The Wondrous Adventures of The Righteous Maximus
by Split Infinitive
Summary: AU. Link and the crew of the hi-tech fairy-driven mining ship The Righteous Maximus don't want any trouble, but trouble seems to find them nonetheless. It all started because of Link's childhood friend Zelda. He has to find her again, you see. After all, the fate of Hyrule may just depend on it.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nintendo. Legend of Zelda. Theirs. Not mine. Etc. Etc...

**The Wondrous Adventures of The Righteous Maximus.**

**Chapter 1**

_**Hyrule.**_

_**The far future.**_

There it was: the ever-present hum of dark energy. You couldn't escape it here. The stench of it tainted the air, its copper taste coated your tongue. Everywhere Link looked, there was a new reminder. There: the hanging lanterns above, creaking on their rusted hinges, glowing with an almost ethereal light. The ancients, so Link had been told, had needed oil to burn if they'd wanted light in _their _lanterns. Beggared belief, sometimes.

And again: crackling sparks spat from the dull metal blades sitting atop his captors' crooked spears. The Moblin guards, with their guttural snorts and low-pitched whines, probably couldn't have cared less. So long as they could inflict pain. They enjoyed doing it. And they'd made sure Link knew it, too. Now, though, all they did was prod him toward his darkened cell.

Dark energy.

_Dark, light - don't we all use it just the same? What did the princess call it again? _

The thought evaded him.

Still. Here it was called dark energy.

He wondered idly if it fed off the very atmosphere of the gulag. Yeah, sure, he knew it wasn't true but he wanted to humour the thought anyway. Screams, groans and - oddly - hysterical laughter echoed through the grimy corridors. Imagine if dark energy did rely on all that for sustenance. Be a bit bloated now, hey?

They walked on. Unrecognisable debris crunched under Link's boots, and he noted that the stone walls were wet with damp.

_At least I hope it's just damp._

This was how Link kept his thoughts distracted. If his mind focussed on what had happened, what had gone wrong, what he'd lost, then...well, he just needed to stay in the present moment. That was all.

He had a variety of tactics for doing so. Checking his surroundings was one. He also glanced down at himself, seeing the black and red of his clothes, spying the emblem - entwined fingers hovering like a pyramid over an etching of the Emerald Palace - that marked him as a member of the Hyrulean Alliance

Water dripped from the ceiling, the sound amplified with a hollow metallic echo. Rain. That was right. It had been raining when they'd brought them here, so Link supposed that the storm hadn't yet abated. He'd been blindfolded on the transport ship, but on their final approach with the guards all jostling with restless impatience, Link had managed to catch a glimpse of this their final destination.

He'd seen the tiny island encompassed by the green swirl of the ocean, a piece of land that was little more than a curled finger of rock, really. He'd seen the squat metal shape of the gulag resting on the island's perch, lashed with rain, its steel hide reflecting a dazzling blue whenever lightning flashed.

Dark and uninviting, the fortress played its part well in trying to unsettle anyone who approached. Link now wondered if the slip of his blindfold had been accidental after all. Now _that _would say a lot about why they'd kept him alive. He unhooked his thoughts as his entourage began to slow.

The shuffling group of Moblins came to a halt in front of a cell. Darkness pooled within. None of those energised lanterns in here, no sir. Keys jangled in the lock, and the door rumbled open with a deep metallic groan. A single, sharp prod to the back pushed Link into the small room. Pricking up his pointed ears, he listened to the squeak of un-oiled gears as the door slowly rolled back into position.

Then, he waited. As per his training he had to make a quick self-assessment: injuries, prospects of escape, that sort of thing. That, and it gave his eyes the time to accustom themselves to the dark. Even now he was slowly beginning to ascertain the shapes of the walls, the hard stone slab of the bed and -

It took Link a fraction of a second to realise that he wasn't alone. His eyes swung to the far corner of the cell. Something - or, more likely, someone - huddled there. He could barely make out the outline of a small, humanoid shape.

He waited. The situation had to be assessed, and the appropriate conclusion had to be found. That's what he'd been trained for.

The huddled shape stirred. Link opened his mouth to speak, but the stranger beat him to it.

"Who is there?"

It was a feminine voice. A young girl's, and carrying a thick accent.

Link held up his palms. "I'm a prisoner like you," he said.

"Please," she replied, her voice strained. "No more hurt."

"I won't hurt you," he said softly. He craned his neck, peering. "Let me see you."

He took a step forward. The outline of the girl visibly tensed. "Please," she said again.

Link paused, allowing a sigh to flit through his pursed lips. He shouldn't be wasting time like this. The girl was no threat. She should be dismissed from his thoughts. No distractions.

And yet...

He didn't know why, but he just ached for some friendly company.

_Well,_ he thought, as the bruises of his beaten body began to throb once more. _I do know why. Anything's better than spending another night with the Moblins._

The silence hung between them. Somewhere outside an unhinged laugh floated through the air.

"Wait," the girl said suddenly. She craned her head forward, and Link managed to make her out in the dimness - she wore a dirt-streaked dress and sat hugging her knees tightly. He face came into view. Wide, electric-blue eyes shone despite the gloom.

Recognition sparked within them both at the very same instant.

"I am knowing you!" she gasped.

Link stepped forward. "Zelda..?" he said, his heart thudding. "Is it you?"

"Link?"

A wave of pure shock struck him. He dashed over to her in an instant, crouching down as his heart filled with a sweetness he'd not felt in years.

_Joy!_

He'd wanted a friend. He'd found her. And not just any friend. His _best. _

Zelda's incredulous eyes searched his face. "It _is_ you!" she breathed. "We played together. As children. In the forest. Are you remembering?"

"Of course I remember!" he cried. "How could I ever forget ? You - you used to call me Link of Kokiri. And I said you were-"

"Zelda of Nowhere." She shook her head in amazement. "Yes."

"How can you even _be _here? How can you be _here?"_

"I was - " Her eyes fluttered, the words dying in her throat. "The forest. It is gone now."

"I know," Link replied, his voice gentle.

"I am having no-one left."

"Neither do I." Link quickly cleared his throat. "Are you hurt? Zelda, tell me, are you injured? I know some rudimentary healing, but I just don't have my gear-"

She laid a hand on his sleeve. "I am fine, Link." A smile touched her lips briefly, vanishing before it could truly settle. "I am very glad to be seeing you again."

"I'm glad, too."

"You were always being very kind to me," she said. "When the other children were teasing me. About the funny way of my speaking."

"What funny way of speaking?"

And now she did smile properly, a broad grin so infectious that Link smiled right along with her. Memories flickered in his mind's eye. Yes, he had stuck up for her when the other children had mocked her. But she had done the same for him. Thin, sickly and weak, young Link had had nothing to fear the moment Zelda, his most fiercest of protectors, had found and formed with him a friendship so strong a Goron Galvanised Hammer wouldn't have dented it.

Zelda and her family had moved in to the Kokiri Forest Settlement from some far off land that no-one could ever pronounce properly much less offer any firm knowledge about. Two children. Both outcasts. Natural kindred spirits, then. Natural friends, too.

Link pulled himself away from his reverie to find Zelda, her brow furrowed, studying his clothes intently. She slowly reached her fingers up to gently touch the emblem of the Hyrulean Alliance. She looked up.

"You are a soldier now?"

"Yes."

"For the Twilight Princess?"

Link felt his cheek twitch. "For Princess Midna, yes." Clearly Zelda wasn't a fan, so he felt compelled to add: "Against Ganondorf."

Zelda blinked. "I see."

Link waited. Emotions churned within. _What's this? Disappointment? Disapproval? _ The tempest in his heart roiled. _And when have I ever cared what anyone else thought?_

The reply was instant: _When it's Zelda._

Zelda looked at him again. "I always wondered what was becoming of you after you were leaving us at the forest."

"I had a duty," he replied, feeling strangely defensive. "To do the right thing."

"You just left," she said. "You were not telling us where and what for."

Link had no reply to that. He hadn't even understood it himself at the time. He just had to go.

Seeing that he wasn't going to elaborate, Zelda asked instead, "How long has it been?"

"Since I left? Four years. A year after Dragmire declared war." He ran a grimy hand through his equally dirty hair. "I was eighteen."

"A soldier," said Zelda. "And how is it that you are here?"

He felt his heart clench. Allowing himself a few deep breaths to regain his composure, he began to explain. "My squadron," he said. "We were in battle." He glanced down at his dark clothes and was grateful for the fact that she couldn't see the blood that had dried into the seams. A ghostly scream wandered somewhere outside. It seemed oddly fitting.

"Yes..?" Zelda prodded after a moment.

"They were all killed." He paused again. The weight of words he hadn't previously dared to entertain sank in. "I think the Moblins left me alive for their own amusement."

Zelda listened in silence. Voices mixed with the buzz of energy, muffled though they were by the door, still hung in the air outside. Finally, she said, "And you?" Her eyes watched his carefully. "You have killed many people...?"

"I -" And for a wonder, he couldn't find the words.

Zelda changed tack. "Hey...are you remembering? How I used to be climbing the trees in the forest?"

"Yeah." Link smiled. "You used to dare me to follow."

"But you wouldn't!" She was grinning now. "You were saying you had to be cautious!"

Link laughed. "I did have to!"

"You were being _scared_!"

She joined in with his laughter, and Link found his tension and wounds subsiding. It hurt to feel so good, in spite of everything else.

"Hmm," said Zelda as her composure returned. "You are not being so scared anymore, I am thinking."

Link's voice was soft. "You'd be right there."

Zelda suddenly snapped forward so fast that Link jumped in spite of all his training. She clutched at his sleeve, her wide eyes pleading.

"Promise me."

"I...what?" Confusion made him frown. "Promise you what?"

"Promise me you will not be leaving me. Ever."

"I...I promise."

Satisfied, she released his arm, sinking to the ground as her eyelids began to close. "You..." she said sleepily. "You were always being so kind."

They talked in the long days that followed. There was little else to do, after all. Talked about old times, about their hopes for a future they weren't even sure of tasting, about anything but the war. Link kept his distance, of course. She needed her privacy, and they were stuck in this same cell after all. He had to admit, he had had faint hopes of a rescue, but now...

Well, despite everything, despite being imprisoned, despite the disturbing noises and the discomfort, Link had found himself, on rare occasion, actually smiling and even laughing more than he had ever had with his former squad mates. His body still ached, but the familiar home of an old and cherished friendship was a like a cooling balm to soothe the wounds within.

He'd missed this.

And he hadn't even realised.

Laying his head back against the hard wall one day he wondered to himself: Would it really be so bad to spend the rest of his life like this?

"What is it you are saying?"

Link looked up, saw Zelda gazing at him in puzzlement.

"Uh..." _Did I just say that out loud? _"Um...I was just thinking. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...to, um, stay here...?"

Zelda grinned. "You really are being very funny, Link."

Link's ears pricked up, his eyes and demeanour suddenly becoming alert.

"What is it?" Zelda said, her smile fading.

Link shushed her. "Can you hear that?"

They both listened. The silence in the cell stretched. Outside, though...outside, Link was certain he heard faint noises - footsteps, voices and -

A sudden echoing _boom_ rocked through the entirety of the gulag. Link and Zelda leapt to their feet as chips of masonry rained down from the ceiling, covering them in a coat of grey dust.

"What is happening?" Zelda cried, panic clearly etched on her young face. "What is going on?"

"Wait," said Link, holding up a hand. His heart thrummed with tension.

Link cocked his head to one side. Now he definitely heard shouts, cries and the distinctive ring of clashing steel. Energy - dark and light - crackled in conflict. The noises grew. They were getting closer. Tendrils of wispy smoke began to drift in under the door.

Link allowed himself a grim smile. "I do believe the cavalry's here."

The shouts grew louder. Link exchanged a hurried glance with Zelda, then ran to the steel door and began pounding. "Hey!" he cried. "In here! I'm from Squadron Alpha-Blue!"

_So much for staying forever..._

He banged and banged, ears straining to hear a response. "Come on!" he cried. "I'm from Alpha-Blue. My commander's name is Beck. My serial number is Zero-One-One-One-Ex-"

At last a gruff voice responded from outside. "Stand back."

Link quickly pushed Zelda away from the door, then positioned himself as a shield in front of her. There was a metallic _clunk_ as something stuck itself to the door, then a low whine that grew louder and louder until -

The door popped off its hinges in a coil of hissing smoke, then fell ponderously to the ground with a deep _clang_. Taking a clearly confused Zelda by the hand, Link dashed into the passageway beyond. They looked to the left. Smoke winded around their ankles. Small fires littered a corridor now strewn with the dead and dying - both Moblins and Hylians.

A soldier from the Royal Guard nodded at him as he made to leave. Link noticed the belt of small Mark I Detonation Devices he wore, and nodded back. "Thanks."

Link turned to the right - then stopped short, stunned.

_Unbelievable!_

It was her.

Princess Midna.

Link threw his free hand up in salute.

"Ma'am!"

Princess Midna cut down two last Moblin guards before looking up. "Soldier." She raised her immense blade in greeting. Its shimmering metal glowed with sparkling blue light energy.

"Is that...?" Zelda gasped.

"Yes," Link replied from the corner of his mouth. "The Master Sword."

Zelda whispered to herself, "The one who wields it is being the ruler of all Hyrule..."

The princess kicked aside burning corpses as she slowly walked toward them, ignoring the soldiers rushing past. Link blinked. So _many _soldiers.

"This isn't a simple rescue, is it?" he asked.

The princess shook her head as she drew level to them. "No, I'm afraid not," she replied. "It's here, soldier. The Artifact."

Link gasped. Today was the day for surprises, that was for certain. "Here? Are you sure?"

Midna nodded. "That's the intel we have, yes. I've never had any reason to doubt them before."

Link's mind whirled in such a frenzy of excitement that he hadn't even noticed the mild reprimand. "Then if we find it...we could end the war! Today!" Doubt made him pause. "Right, ma'am?"

The princess nodded again, then peered over his shoulder. Her eyebrow arched. "Who is this...?"

"Uh..." Link replied. He realised Zelda's hand was still in his so he squeezed his reassurance. "She's with me."

Before the princess had a chance to respond, a flutter of light buzzed into the space between them. Midna's eyes shifted to the hovering fairy. "Report."

"Fortress is secured, Ma'am," the fairy replied, saluting. "All the Moblins have been accounted for."

"Excellent," said the princess. "Prepare the sweep teams. We need to search for -"

The gulag shook again. Link dropped into a fighting stance just as the princess raised the Master Sword. Their eyes searched, waiting.

_This is not good. I don't even have a weapon. _That, and the passageway was now empty apart from the three of them and the fairy. Link swallowed. If he had to defend the princess and his oldest friends with his bare hands, then -

Another tremor rocked the fortress. And another.

Then...peace.

Zelda broke the silence. "Oh no. Oh no! Do not let him be capturing me! _Please!_ Do not let him!"

Link blinked, distracted. "What...?"

The air shimmered. A spiral of glowing blue light appeared before them, growing larger and larger with every second.

Princess Midna narrowed her eyes. "Warp gate."

A sudden howling wind gusted down the corridor, rattling the steel doors in their hinges. Midna's fairy was caught in the current and was thrown screaming into the distance, her wings and limbs bent askew at awkward angles. The stone-faced princess held her ground.

"_Nooooooooo..." _Link glanced back at the sound of Zelda's ghostly moan. Ashen-faced, all she could do was grip his hand harder in a painful vice.

The warp gate exploded outward and two figures stepped through. Link's mouth went instantly dry. Terror radiated in his every nerve. He'd heard the stories. He'd even seen the pictographs. But nothing could ever have prepared him for his very first sight of Ganondorf Dragmire.

Heavy armour dripping with dark energy that glowed violet, the man that they'd been waging war against for the past five years dwarfed every single one of them. Link was sure he wouldn't even be able to reach the monster's knee.

_Sword! I need a sword!_

Standing beside Dragmire was his traditional bodyguard. Tall, slender and wearing a featureless steel mask of glittering purple, this was the woman known only as the Aveil.

Ganondorf took a step forward and the whole floor rippled in response. "_Princess Midna._" His metallic voice tore at Link's mind like steel-tipped claws. "_A pleasure to meet you at long last."_

The princess pointed the Master Sword at her nemesis. "You will not take this from me," she spat, her voice quivering ever-so-slightly. "I don't know why you and your foul Gerudo brought this war to us from your desert world, but you will not take Hyrule."

"_Ah, you do me a disservice, Princess," _Dragmire replied. _"I am not here for your Master Sword. At least, not today, no."_

Princess Midna swallowed. "Then what do you want?"

"_The question, my dear, is what do __**you**__ want?"_ He chuckled.

"I have no time for your riddles." The muscles in her jaw twitched. "I could finish you right here."

A thin smile stretch across Dragmire's lips. _"I doubt that, my dear." _Another chuckle. "_But you are quite right. I wouldn't want to test the strength of that blade of yours. And let us not waste any more of our precious time. You want something."_

"I do?"

The monster chuckled again. "_ I refer, of course...to this."_

Ganondorf held up a fist. Slowly, with all the care of a master dramatist, he slowly opened it. Floating above his palm was a small, triangular-shaped object.

Princess Midna struggled to keep her composure. "The Artifact!"

_"Is it? I had heard you were keen on it. For the life of me, I wouldn't know why. It's just junk to me._"

Link watched the whole exchange transfixed in utter fascination. Irritation, too. Helplessness washed over him - he was just a passive observer in the unfolding of might turn out be some pretty tremendous events. And Zelda...

He glanced behind him once more. Zelda cowered away, desperately trying to avoid being seen by Ganondorf. What was going on with her...?

Link's head hurt. He was just a simple soldier. He just wanted to do what was right. Events threatened to overwhelm him now, and he felt like a leaf torn away from its branch and sucked up into the heart of a typhoon.

"If you don't want it, Dragmire," the princess continued. "Then just hand it over."

Link blinked. Surely the monster wouldn't fall for that...?

"_Oh,_" said Ganondorf. "_You misunderstand. There is something I want in return."_

"Name your terms."

The corner of Dragmire's mouth curled up in a smirk. _"So eager you are."_ Her barked a short laugh. "_Very well. You may have this little bauble. In exchange...for __**that**__ girl."_

All eyes turned toward Zelda. "Please..." she whimpered, her nails digging into Link's skin. "Don't."

"What?" Link replied, his confused gaze sweeping from his friend to his arch-foe. "Why..?"

_"And more,_" Dragmire continued, addressing the princess. _"As a gesture of goodwill, I will allow you and your army to warp out of here unharmed. You must know by now that I have this fortress surrounded. Did you really think you could just warp in without me knowing...? And that you'd be able to warp out again without me blocking your warp-tech...? Even now my flagships are encircling this very position."_

"But-" said Link.

"Soldier."

Link snapped to attention. "Ma'am!" He turned to the princess, saw the granite look of determination locked on her face. Sudden comprehension hit him like a blow to the stomach.

"No..." he gasped. His saluting hand began to droop. "You can't be considering..."

_Assess the situation. Find the appropriate conclusion._

"Link!" Zelda cried. "Please!"

"Soldier!" snapped Midna. "You know what is at stake here!"

_Assess the situation. Find the appropriate conclusion._

Link shook his head. "You can't!"

"_I am __**waiting, **__Princess._"

Link whirled around to face the monster. "Why?" he cried. _Pleaded._ "What do you want with her?"

For the first time, Ganondorf turned his flinty gaze upon Link. Ice ran through the young man's heart.

_"What do you want with __**this, **__hmm?" _Dragmire asked, gesturing with his head toward the Artifact.

"I..." But Link couldn't tell him. Couldn't tell him how important it was. Especially not if the monster didn't already know. But he had to do _something. _"Then fight me for her. Go on. Fight! Don't play games. You could just take what you want, you know you could."

_"I'd prefer her in one piece, thank you. I cannot risk any harm coming to her."_

"But wh-"

Princess Midna's cold voice cut through his. "Do the exchange."

"_Excellent._"

Link grasped helplessly for a sword that wasn't even there. "NO!"

"Stop them, Link," Zelda gasped. "You promised!"

"_Do not..._

...interfere, soldier!"

Ganondorf and Midna had spoken in unison so well that Link, for a heartbeat, couldn't even tell them apart. A knot of disquieting doubt tightened deep in his soul.

"You will not risk the lives of millions to save your friend." said Midna. Her words echoed within Link's head.

_How do you know? _he wanted to scream. _How do you know the Artifact will do what you want it to do? _But he couldn't. Not without giving away the princess's plan to the monster. And he was just too well trained to do that.

The world flowed around Link like a numb dream.

He saw Dragmire place the Artifact on the floor, place his boot atop it, then kick it over to the princess. He saw the Aveil shove him aside, saw her tear Zelda's grip from his, saw Zelda being dragged away kicking and screaming.

Begging.

His vision blurred, until he realised those were tears in his eyes. Tears. He hadn't those for years. Not since weak, sickly little Link had been unable to stand up for himself against the casual cruelty of other children so long, long ago. He wasn't that Link anymore. No way. Isn't that what he'd prided himself upon in all his years serving Princess Midna and her righteous cause...?

Link heard the princess call up a fairy to give the order to retreat, heard personal warp gates opening around the fortress. He even thought he heard Ganondorf bellow with laughter. He certainly caught the monster's parting remark: that one piece of the Artifact wasn't enough - that they would need all three; heard, too, Princess Midna's shrill screech of rage.

But most of all he would remember Zelda's wide, blue eyes locking with his. Would remember seeing those very same eyes fill with the horror of his betrayal.

And would remember forever the shattering of his very soul.

**A/N: **I have to apologise to anyone who's sent me a PM and didn't get a reply. I wasn't being rude, I just haven't been getting any alerts since the end of last summer. That includes story alerts, so I have a bit of catching up to do - one person's story is at Chapter 27 when I'd left it at single figures.

Also, yes, I've taken Eclipsed down. Long story.

Hope you enjoy this story better. Hope I finish it, too. What's that you say...? The Zelda fandom aren't fond of Zelda taking place in a semi-futuristic setting...? Uh oh...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sleep. Waves upon waves of inky darkness. Link tumbled, tossed from side to side by unknown forces, drowning in the murky gloom. Three years had passed since his escape from the fortress, three long, long years, and yet sleep still troubled the young man. He paused. There was a change. He felt it. An ever-so-subtle change. A jagged shaft of light forked an opening in the black abyss. Link knew what that meant. He knew, and he didn't like it.

It was time to dream.

_Mine. I can't believe it. It's just for me!_

Seven-year-old Link sat cross-legged under the shade of an immense oak tree and gazed lovingly at his prize. The forest sunlight flitted through the gently swaying canopy of leafy branches and warmly kissed his face. In the distance he caught the faint sound of laughter and voices floating in the cool air all the way from the nearby town known only as the Kokiri Settlement. Everyone sounded so happy.

Obviously. It's because everyone was celebrating today. Eating, laughing and being generally merry. There would be fireworks later tonight, too. Link didn't really like the sound of that. Literally. Far too loud and scary.

But just right now, Link couldn't have cared less about his hometown and what they had planned for later. Now, his heart was almost fit to burst with excitement and joy.

Cradled in his lap was an apple. His apple.

Today was the _Feastival Day_, this year marking the fiftieth anniversary of...of...of

_Something. _Link wasn't quite sure what. He'd never really been that bothered.

So. Feastival Day. And, as the name suggested, the people of the Kokiri Settlement feasted, not just on food, but on gifts and merriment, too. Or, to put it bluntly, it was party time!

Link grinned. He knew that the other kids had gotten all the latest toys - the Gerudo Annihilator Replica Sword or the Goron Hammer of Justice play set - and knew that his Mama couldn't afford much. But today, for the very first time, things had been different. Today had been the _first _Feastival Day that she'd managed to get him _anything_, the first where he hadn't had to put on a brave face as his Mama had hugged him tightly, tears in her eyes, whispering "Next year, darling. Next year."

So this year he'd gotten something. An apple.

And not just any apple, He held it up to the light, one eye squinting, and admired the glossy crimson sheen. You don't get _red _apples like this in the Kokiri Settlement. Even little Link knew that. He didn't know what its name was, but it had to have been brought in from outside. And it must have cost a lot.

Link sighed in contentment. Most of all, it was _his _apple.

"What you get there, cough boy?"

Startled, Link jumped. So engrossed had he been in his gift that he hadn't noticed the two larger boys approach. Mido and Groose, Link's ever-present tormentors. Well, it was really more Mido than the other boy. Groose just seemed to tag along, bored and fascinated all at the same time.

Mido's boot crunched to a halt right in front of Link. A scatter of leaves fell lazily from above. "I said," the bulky boy spat. "What you _got_ there?"

Link tried to hide the apple behind his back. "N-n-nothing!"

Mido kicked him straight in the jaw. Link tumbled back, stung. His mouth thrummed with pain. His head was spinning. Then, embarrassingly, Link began to heave. Throaty coughs began to clog his throat. He couldn't help it. This always happened to him. And he hated it. Hated it something fierce.

And now tears were pooling in his eyes. He hated _that _even more

"Don't lie to me, you worthless worm," Mido spat. "And don't you be getting your germs over me. I might catch poverty off of you."

"Just leave it, Mido," Groose said. Shafts of sunlight illuminated the thick green undergrowth beyond. "It's just an apple. We got those new Transmaskers from Termina. We can turn into _anything_. Let's go test 'em!"

Mido glanced at Groose, then turned to Link. "Give it to me."

"N-no."

Mido brought his boot down hard on the centre of Link's chest. Phlegm went flying from his mouth, and he was overcome by another violent fit of coughing.

"Ugh!" Mido cried, grimacing. "I told you not to -

_THWACK!_

Mido whirled around, rubbing the back of his head. A thick branch lay at his feet. "Who...?"

Link looked up, too. Standing atop a gnarled tree stump with hands on her hips was the new girl who had just moved in. Link frowned. What was her name...? Esmerelda...? No. Zelda...

"Oh, ho," Mido smirked, nudging a disinterested Groose with his elbow. "It's the funny talking foreign girl."

Her profile already outlined in golden sunlight, Zelda's face, set solid in anger, was quite a sight. Link had to take a few deep breaths.

Zelda wagged a plump finger. "You are being leaving him alone now, yes?"

Mido sniggered. "And if I don't? What will you do?"

Groose clutched at his friend's sleeve. "Leave it. Let's go."

Mido jerked free, then began to slowly stalk toward the girl. Twigs and dried leaves crackled and snapped under his boots. "Well?"

Zelda, undeterred, folded her arms. "Then I will be hitting you with something harder than a stick!"

"Oh, really?" Mido crept closer. His fingers were semi-flexed, almost like claws. His grin widened as he came closer and closer and -

Zelda kicked him straight in the face.

"OWWWW!" Mido, clutching his nose, stumbled back into a shocked Groose.

Zelda jumped off the stump, picked up her long skirts, then ran over to Link. The young boy, eyes wide, began to shrink back.

Zelda skidded to a halt, then gazed down at him. "We are running now."

"W-what?"

Zelda held out a hand. "We are running now. Okay?"

"O-okay."

And run they did. Over tree stumps, dodging trees, and leaping through the tiniest of gaps that only children as small as the two of them could ever hope to fit through.

When they were finally sure that they weren't being followed, Zelda called a halt. She placed a palm against a tree and doubled over as she tried to catch her breath. Still wide-eyed and clutching his apple, Link slowly began to back away. Zelda looked up, puzzled.

Link froze. His mouth dried. He could feel his limbs begin to tremble.

_What now? What do I do now?_

Instinct took over, and Link did what he always did when any human bar his mother got too close. "Y-you go away. Go away!"

Zelda straightened her back. "I am thinking you have a very funny way of saying thanking you."

"_Go away!"_ Link shrieked. He could feel another wave of coughing rising, and he again hated himself for it. "Leave me alone."

"Hmm," said Zelda, not moving. She folded her arms and stood imperiously. "Why are you letting those boys be treating you like that? You must be brave. You must being strong."

"W-why did you help me? What do you want from me?"

"I am helping you because it is being the right thing to do."

She tried to take a step forward but was jerked back instantly. "Ow!" she spat as she looked down. She tugged at her foot. "Oh bother!"

Link peered at her cautiously. "What's wrong?"

Impatience flashed across Zelda's face, and Link shrank back. Seeing that, she swallowed, then softened her expression. "I am being stuck, see?" she pointed. Her foot had sank deep into the earth. "I am thinking something has my foot."

If Link's eyes could have got any wider, they would have. "Some...thing?"

Zelda tried to smile. Somewhere above a bird squawked. "Do not be worrying. There are being many such creatures in a forest such as this."

"C-creatures?" Link swallowed. "I b-better go."

Zelda's eyes expanded instantly, forming round sapphire ovals that seemed to shine with their own internal light. "You are going to be leaving me here?"

"I - I -" And then, suddenly, Link felt something click deep within his heart, felt something suddenly change. He couldn't explain what it was, and he couldn't explain to his protesting mind why, but Link slowly began to edge forward. Once he'd gotten close enough, he peered down into the hole. Sure enough some green plant-like _thing _had swallowed Zelda's foot up to her ankle. Link gulped.

He closed his trembling free hand into a fist. He swallowed again, then ploughed his fist into the creature. It's green jaws snapped open instantly, and Zelda stumbled free, then fell flat on her rump with a squeak.

"Oh, thanking you!" she breathed. "Oh thanking you so much!"

She moved toward him, arms outstretched. Link flinched and scrambled backward. Usually when someone approached him like that it was to deliver a blow.

Zelda watched him cautiously, a strange look in her eyes, then slowly sat back down. She seemed to understand. And for some reason that Link couldn't fathom, that made his heart swell with warmth.

A light breeze rustled the leaves overhead. Zelda's eyes dropped to his hand. "What is that you are holding?"

Link glanced down. "Oh. It's - it's an apple. From my Mama. For Feastival Day. Today."

Zelda smiled. "It is being very pretty."

And, yet again, Link felt something deep within him click, felt something else change. In halting, jerking movements, he held the apple out to Zelda. "W-would you like to take the first bite?"

Zelda's smiled widened. She reached out, slowly this time as though she didn't want to startle him, and took the apple. "You are being very kind," she said. "What is your name?"

"_Healer!" _ The dreamscape began to blur, colours spilling, forms dissolving. "_Hey, Link!"_

Slowly, ever so slowly, Link's consciousness began to drag him back home.

* * *

_###_

_Recording..._

_This is your Goron-Z Co. Fi-class fairy speaking. Designation: Navi. I'm the ship's pilot, engineer, **and** communications specialist._

_Ain't I great?_

_I'm also the ship's eyes and ears. My job is to make a fresh report each and every day with the proviso to annotate it for a non-specialist audience. That'd be you listeners, then._

_One day your life will flash before your very eyes. Probably because I've been recording every single moment. Like they say: better make it worth watching, hey?_

_But let's check in with Mining Team Beta-Beta-Gamma..._

###

"Healer!"

The voice cut through the fog of Link's sleep, and for that he was grateful. The tar-pit of his dreams held no refuge for him. Why-oh-why did the past keep prodding him so?

"Hey, Link!" the voice called again. "Quit snoozing and get yourself out here! We've got a situation here, you snag?"

"Yeah, yeah, I snag," Link grumbled, swinging his legs out from his bed. He sat there for a moment, befuddled, then rubbed the stickiness from his eyes, flapped his mouth open and closed a number of times, and yawned for good measure. His deliberation was intentional. If it had _really _been an emergency, Navi would have shocked him awake with a buzz of light energy straight to the bloodstream.

Pulling on his clothes in a heartbeat, he grabbed his battered medi-gear box from the makeshift tin table by his bed, then put on his long forest-green coat. The whole shack was made of tin, with water dripping in from the rusted roof above just to remind him how temporary it was. Each of the crew had their own crude version of this very same cabin, and each was just as sparse as Link's. After all, they kept the bulk of their supplies back on the ship.

Well. There was that _one _thing he kept hidden in here. But it wasn't like he'd ever get to use _that_.

"Are you up yet, lad?" the voice boomed from the outside. "Or you happy there in the pleasure of your own company?"

"No, not really," Link grumbled under his breath. "Rather be with someone I actually like."

Straightening his coat's collar, Link stepped out into dark.

###

_Designation: Link._

_Race: Hylian of the Kokiri Settlement._

_Function: Doctor._

_Trivia: None, because all his files are strictly classified. _

_Nice._

###

Dark. It was nearly _always _dark, here in the northern-most hemisphere of Hyrule. Mining Team BBG had two constant companions: the cold, and the swirl of stars overhead. That, and the permanently rocky decor that lay stretched in every direction they looked.

_Okay, I exaggerate. We've still got the lamps. We've still got some light._

And that was how Link could make out shapes and shadows in the gloom, specifically the huge shadow he presently found himself under. He looked up to see the reassuring presence of their modest ship, hovering like a silent guardian of the air, its sails rippling under the faint night-time breeze_. _

Spheres of light emanating from the lanterns placed on the rocky ground below illuminated the mining vessel's crimson painted hull. The ship's brass railings gleamed wherever the light caught it. Though made mostly of wood, thin rivulets of steel galvanised with light energy held her together. She was a sturdy old girl, that was for sure.

Those sails, though? The ship didn't need them. Nor did any sky boat. Another relic from the ancients. Light energy powered the huge underside engines - now laying dormant, silent and dark - and the sails were just a decoration, a nod to the past where such ships would plough through the ocean waves.

She was old, she was battered, and she was _home. _Link smiled. He was certain he'd finally fallen in love.

###

_Our ship!_

_Type: Goron-Z Co. Cloud Clipper Mark I. Three decks high. The middle is the crew's living quarters. The lower is the cargo hold. We hardly ever go down there._

_Designation: **The Righteous Maximus.**_

_Link chose the name. That's just how he rolls._

###

In the distance, Link spied the young girl Saria sitting flat on the ground and nursing her arm with the large form of Gortram crouched over her in concern. It was a testament to the strength of the Goron's voice that he'd managed to make his words carry this far.

Still. Even from this distance, it didn't look too bad.

Hurrying over, old habits kicked in: assess the situation, find the appropriate conclusion. He picked his way across the rocky terrain, stones veined with silver and quartz spinning away from under the heel of his boots.

"Took you long enough," the captain growled as Link dropped to a crouch.

"Sorry," Link replied. "A little tired."

"Wouldn't need so much sleep if you didn't work yourself so hard, snag?"

"I find a bit of late night digging helps clear the mind. Keeps you focussed and all that."

"There's more to life than work, lad."

Saria snorted, her green eyes sparkling. "Like there's anything else to do around here but work."

The captain ignored her. "Got something on your plate, lad? Need to share?"

"Nothing to worry about, sir," said Link.

Gortram twitched. "How many months is that now, lad?"

"Sorry?"

"How many months since I told you."

"Told me what?"

"Told you not to call me 'sir.'"

###

_Designation: Gortram_

_Race: Goron_

_Function: Captain and Fearless Leader._

_Trivia: Captain Gortram likes to frequent the Enlightened Bliss Beaches of the Zora, where all tastes are catered for, and all ages welcomed. The immoral and the dissolute, though, go straight to the resort's seedy underbelly to gratify their frankly quite unnatural lusts with the very willing (for a price, of course) female population._

_Gortram goes to ride the children's Mine Carts. _

_Cute._

###

Link turned back to the young girl's wound. "Just a little cut," he said, examining her arm. "What was the drama for, hey?"

"Oh, we need drama," said Saria, sighing theatrically. "We really need some drama."

Link ignored her. "Some standard issue antiseptic lotion and a bandage should sort it." Aided by the faint, ghostly starlight and a lantern perched near some discarded pick-axes, Link peered in a little closer, then glanced up at the young girl. "Rock shrapnel, right?"

"Stop that."

"What?"

"Using your doctor voice on me."

"Doctor voice?"

"Y'know, making me feel all calm and relaxed and wanting to spill out my guts to you."

A tight smile stretch over Link's lips. "I don't do that. Anyway, see? You're fine. Back to your normal, happy self. Nothing to worry about, hey?" There was a gleam in his eye before he asked again, "So, rock shrapnel, right?"

Saria nodded, oblivious to what Link had just done. "I thought I'd add a bit of variety, y'know? _So _boring. Lift the axe, break the rock. Lift the axe, break the rock. Lift the ax-"

"And so-?" Link cut in, squinting at the wound. It looked clean, and the lotion was settling in nicely. Excellent.

"So I thought I'd _spin_ the axe before digging in. Except _while_ I was spinning, it caught another piece of rock and -"

"You got a rock shrapnel." Link patted her freshly bandaged arm. "Good thing it didn't get stuck in there."

Saria smiled. "I wouldn't have worried, anyhow."

Link arched an eyebrow, smiling. "Oh?"

" You'd have patched me up, wouldn't you? Right?"

Link's smile faded. A shadow flitted over his features. "I don't do promises."

"Ooh, _serious,_" Saria teased. "Thanks, anyway."

###

_Designation: Saria_

_Race: Unknown_

_Function: Unknown_

_Trivia: Saria's presence on the crew breaks every known Hylian Child Labour laws from at least the past two centuries._

_Sweet._

###

Saria wiggled her fingers and tested her arm. She sighed. "Back to the old grind, then?"

"Yeah," the captain muttered. "Playtime's over, kids."

Saria's face soured. "Oh, joy."

"Hey, don't talk like that," Link replied, picking up one of the discarded pick-axe. With a heave, Link lifted the axe over his head, the dull metal spike catching a sliver of faint starlight, then brought it down hard with a hollow rocky _chunk._ He didn't notice the glance traded between Saria and Captain Gortram. They knew what was coming.

"We can get the job done so long as we all work together," Link explained. "Remember, we're doing the _right _thing. We're digging out the _Zayronite_ Princess Midna needs to power the light energy she uses in her war effort." He gestured over toward a large pile of dark rods, a testament how much they'd retrieved already this week.

"This stuff is sensitive," Link continued as he returned to his task, "so it can only be done by hand. We're just one of many teams around this here field. We are _doing our part_ to end this war."

Link paused, pick-axe held aloft, as he felt the captain's hand come to rest on his shoulder. "Sing yourself to sleep with that song, Link?" Gortram asked softly. "You're preaching to the converted here. Maybe you're the one who's not yet convinced, snag?"

Link's face froze. He blinked once, twice. Stung, Link wrenched his shoulder free, then went back to his work. Gortram chuckled.

Saria watched the two adults for a moment, a pensive look cast on her face, then reached over for her own axe and began to flick at it absent-mindedly. "I know what you're saying, Link. Really, I do. But this would all be _so_ much easier if we still had our full crew."

###

_Designation: Anju and Kafei._

_Race: Terminans._

_Function: Crack husband and wife geologists. _

_Trivia: Anju doubled as the ship's chef. She wasn't very good at it._

_Current status: MISSING IN ACTION._

_So sad._

###

"Shouldn't even be out here, that's what I say," the captain growled. He perched himself atop the flattest looking rocky outcropping. He paused, sat upon his new throne against a backdrop of slowly swirling stars. "War should've been over years ago."

Saria sat up straight. "Mmm-hmm? Talking politics now, are we? I thought we all agreed that was a no-go."

The Captain grunted. "In light of your current _condition_, sprog, I'm giving the rule a rest for today."

Saria beamed in response. Link paused from his digging to glance over at Gortram. "What makes you say that, sir? About the war ending?"

"Call me 'sir' again, Link, and you'll be pulling that axe right out from -" He stopped as he noticed Saria's frankly juvenile grin. The fact that she _was_ a child didn't make his mood any sweeter. "Away with you, sprog. I promised your momma I'd be taking care of you. _And _that includes those little ears of yours. You'll be hearing no filth from me."

Saria leaned forward. "Yeah, about that prom-"

"_So_," Gortram cut in. "Like I was saying. It wouldn't have taken much to end this war."

"No, just drop a big Goron hammer on everyone, right?"

The captain ignored her. "All I'm saying is this: we've got the Master Sword."

Saria blinked. "What, here?"

Still the Goron didn't take the bait. "You get the Master Sword, right? Or the princess does. And then just skewers that rat Dragmire with it. Skewers him good. Ain't that what the sword's for, anyhow? Evil's pain or something?"

"Bane," Link corrected, softly. "You have to find him first," he added. When he noticed that the others were now looking at him with interest, he continued, "Ganondorf. You have to find him. No one knows where he is."

"Yeah, whatever," said Saria. "It's not like you've been searching for him or anything, is it?"

Link felt the muscles in his jaw tighten. "No," he said through gritted teeth. He smashed another rock with his axe. Splinters shattered in all directions. "It's not."

"Watch it with that stuff," Saria said, brushing rockdust off of her shoulder. "We've already had one near fatal accident already today. _Any_way, " Saria went on, a conspiratorial gleam in her eye. "I heard something about that Master Sword. Something about the _sword _and the _princess._" She looked around in glee.

"Out with it, then!" spat Gortram. "You've got your chance to talk politics. Don't waste it now."

"Yeah, Saria," said Link, his voice dark as he continued to dig. "Tell us, please."

Pleased with her responsive audience, Saria knitted her fingers and leaned back. "Well, it goes a little like this. Apparently, Princess Midna can't even _use _the Master Sword anymore. Uh-huh, you heard that right. You know why? Do you?" She looked from one man to the other. "It's the sword itself. It's deemed her not worthiness."

"Unworthy," Link cut in.

"Yeah, that," Saria bit back in irritation. "_Any_way, she can't even lift it. Apparently she made some really terrible decision way back when and the sword doesn't think she's got it anymore. She's not worthy. Unworthy. Whatever. It's all a big cover-up."

Gortram shook his head. "But _you _know all about it, do you...?"

Saria shrugged. "I read about it. I like to read."

"Where?" the captain scoffed. "_The Whistleblower?_ That trash rag?"

"Hey!" Saria said, her cheeks tinted rose. "It's good to read!" She sniffed, then added under her breath, "Besides, _The Whistleblower's _got some mega-major contacts..."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Link mumbled. "About her being unworthy."

"Mmm-_hmm!"_ Saria cried. "Look who's a sourpuss now? One minute he's all 'we've got to do our bit for the effort' and now he's the Vice-Chairman of the Princess Midna Hate Club.'"

Sweat flew from Link's brow as he swung his axe down in a rhythmic _whoosh-chunk, whoosh-chunk, whoosh-chunk _cycle_._ "Hey, they don't call her the Twilight Princess for nothing. Twilight. Darkness. It's all there in the name."

"Hey," Gortram growled. "None of that disrespectful lip from you, lad." The captain eyed the younger man. "And who's 'they'"?

"The Gerudo have to be stopped." _Whoosh-chunk. _"But that doesn't mean -" _Whoosh-chunk. _ "- I have to like - " _Whoosh- chunk._ "- Princess Midna."

"Oh, right," said Saria. "Like you know her personally or something."

_Whoosh-chunk. _

"That's not what I -"

_Whoosh-CRACK._

Link froze. He stepped back as his two friends scrambled up for a better look. Gortram frowned. "What in the blue blazes was that...?"

Link crouched down, scrabbling away at all the dirt and detritus. "It appears I've found something," he said in his usual quiet voice. "Something that shouldn't be - hey, lend a hand, both of you. Looks like it's stuck fast."

Three pairs of hands burrowed into the dirt to get a firm handhold on the object. Link glanced at the other two, and they both nodded back. "Okay. On three. One...two...THREE!"

With a tug and a _pop _of sucked earth, the thing flew free, spun in the air, then landed at the tip of Link's boot.

Saria frowned. "Nope," she said as she peered down. "Still don't know what it is."

"And what it's doing here," the captain chimed in. "I'll have to report it." Gortram looked up, noticed Link's wide eyes and shocked visage. "What, lad? You know what this thing is...?"

"It's..." Link gazed down at the small, triangular shaped object. Strange markings pocked its varnished surface. "It can't..."

###

_Uh-oh._

_Status: Red blob-like object just appeared at the corner of my enhanced tactical vision._

_Course of action: Notify the crew._

_Nice chatting with you. I'm outta here._

###

"_Proximity Alert! Proximity Alert!" _

The trio all snapped their eyes up to see the team's resident fairy racing toward them, drops of light sprinkling in her wake.

"What're you babbling about, Navi?" the captain growled, stepping forward.

"Listen!" the fairy cried as she came to a sudden mid-air stop in front of them. "A warp gate's just been opened. A big one. Looks like a ship coming through."

"Where?"

"Um." Navi gestured vaguely. "That-a-way...?"

Captain Gortram sighed. "That helps. Well, there's no ships scheduled today. No-one's due to pick up any Zayronite until late next week. Maybe it's a lost supply frigate."

"No." The steely ice in Link's voice made everyone turn in his direction. "It's the Gerudo." He scooped the triangular shaped object off of the ground. "They want this."

"What?" Saria and the captain cried in unison.

"The Gerudo, here?" Gortram went on. "Not likely, lad."

"Yeah," Saria added. "What's got into you? Too much digging and not enough sleep, y'know?"

Link stepped up to the senior officer. "Captain Gortram, you must trust me on this. You _must._ We need to get on board the _Maximus_, and we need to leave. Now."

Gortram held Link's gaze. He chewed the inside of his cheek as he pondered. "Gerudo?" he said, unconvinced. "Really?"

"Captain!" Navi cried before Link could reply. "The incoming ship has changed course and is now bearing down on our position. Fast."

"_How_ fast?"

"Very."

Gortram slowly turned to the fairy. "Why do I put up with you? Why?"

Navi grinned. "Because of my sunny disposition and optimistic out-"

"Captain...?" said Link.

Gortram gave him one last look. "Alright. Let's show some haste, people. But if this is a false alarm, you've got some explaining to do, Link. You snag?"

Link smiled. "I snag."

"We'll leave the shacks," the captain barked as they made their way back to the ship. "Just climb on board the _Maximus_ for now."

Link frowned. "In that case..." He abruptly changed direction.

"Hey!" cried Gortram, but it was too late. Link had already sprinted over to his cabin. He popped inside, a dozen anxious heartbeats passed, and then he came back out with a brown leather scabbard strapped to his back.

Saria's jaw dropped. "A sword? Really? Since when do _you_ have a sword? _Why _do you have a sword? What does _any _miner need with a sword?"

"Questions later, sprog," said Gortram. "Up the ladder with you." His face betrayed his own puzzlement, and he threw Link a meaningful look before he barked, "Navi - release the anchor!"

They'd barely all clambered onto the deck when the ship's underside engines slowly came to life, first with a low-level whine, then a slowly increasing growl. The turbines within began to spin, pulsing with light energy. Navigation lamps - red on the port side, green to starboard - flickered to life. The wooden planks of the deck thrummed gently as energy coursed through them, illuminating every panel line, nook and cranny.

"Full ahead!" called the captain.

"Aye," Navi replied as she floated at the furthermost tip of the bow.

The small mining vessel ponderously began to drift off. Anxiety gnawed at Link. "Come on, come on," he muttered. His neck suddenly prickled. He looked up, his heart clenched in fear. And with every good reason.

"They're here."

The glistening black Gerudo galleon swooped down from the sky, its immense sails billowing, its crew screaming curses and taunts. It was twice the size of _The Righteous Maximus_ and bristled with cannons powered by glowing dark energy.

Saria's gaped open-mouthed in awe. "A Mark III Knight-Razor..."

"Navi!" Captain Gortram bellowed. "Evasive!"

_The Righteous Maximus _lurched to port, narrowly missing a collision with their Gerudo attacker. Thrown to the shuddering railings by the force of the engines swooping overhead, the small mining crew screamed in terror. A smear of dark energy trailed the enemy ship, like an indigo tear in the night sky.

"Hold on, everyone!" Link cried. "_Hold on!_"

The Gerudo cannons fired instantly. Ropes and rigging snapped. Wood splintered on the mining ship's right flank.

Gortram roared, fear and anger mixed in his bellow. "My ship! That's my ship, you scoundrels!" Seething, he pushed himself away from the ship's edge, then cried, "Navi! Status report!"

"Well," the little fairy said cheerily as she bobbed up and down above the ship's bow. "We're outclassed, out-gunned, out-manned, have a hole in one side of the ship and are facing our imminent - and no doubt slow and painful - deaths." Navi smiled sweetly at the captain. "Other than all that, everything is _juuuuust _fine."

Saria began to back slowly away from the ship's railings. "Oh. Oh gosh. This is really happening! We're dead! We are going to die!"

Gortram shook his head. "Link...Link!" he called. "Lad, we're just miners. We don't know how to fight." Somewhere on the deck a broken plank of wood clattered to the ground. "What do they want with us? What should we do?"

Link stood at the centre of the deck, reflexively dropping into an old fighting stance, his gaze following the path of the starlight-speckled Gerudo battleship as it cut a graceful arc through the night sky. Massive engines throbbed with dark energy, distorting the very air around the ship and filled their ears with a deep, guttural drone that vibrated down to their very bones. Lantern light framed the ship's nameplate: _ Skystalker._

The battleship turned again, and the air rang raw with the ever-increasing sounds of Gerudo curses mixed with banging drums. The growl from the _Skystalker's _engines deepened.

Link's eyes widened. "Oh...bother."

The enemy battleship suddenly pitched downward, its steel-reinforced prow on a direct course to try and ram the _Maximus_.

"_Evasive_," Navi said calmly.

_The Righteous Maximus _ plunged out of harm's way, her crew screaming yet again, then pulled up sharply in an uneven curve as the rocky ground came suddenly into view.

Hair and clothes still aflutter from the backwash from the _Skystalker's_ immense engines, Link dragged himself to his feet. His ears throbbed from the roar tearing through the air. "We work together," he said at last. "And we'll get out just fine. Navi - we need a warp gate. Now."

Liquid-fast wings fluttered. "Working on it."

Link nodded an acknowledgment. _Let's just hope they don't have warp-blocking tech._

The ship's fittings began to rattle. Though _The Righteous Maximus _was still picking up speed, the Gerudo ship had already matched its pace and had now drawn up alongside it.

"Why aren't they firing?" Gortram asked.

Link peered over at the _Skystalker_. The toothless and the maimed glared back.

"They don't want to risk damaging us too much," he said. "Probably because of this." He patted a pouch hanging from his belt where he'd stored the object they'd found. "Looks like they're preparing a boarding party." He squinted. "Of just _one_ person. Don't think they rate us much, hey?"

"Why should they?" said Saria, sprinting over to where Link stood with Gortram.

Link ran scenarios through his head. _Assess the situation. Find the appropriate conclusion._

He gazed down at the young girl. "Saria. We're going to need a distraction. I know you can do it. I _believe _in you."

The young girl shook her head in incredulous disdain. "You are _so _bad at giving inspirational speeches."

Link smiled. _She's mastered her fear. That's what matters now._

"Captain," he said. "You're with me."

Gortram nodded grimly, heaving a pick-axe up to bear. "Aye. If this is how it ends, then let's go down with pride."

Link's returning smile was as equally grim. He shifted attention. "Navi...?"

"Still working on it. Just for you information: It may not be the most stable of warp gates. We could end up anywhere. Or in itsy-bitsy little pieces." She smiled cheerfully . "Still _living _pieces."

"Just...just do the best you can."

_The Righteous Maximus _shook as the _Skystalker_ rammed into her side. Cackles and snarls erupted from the Gerudo crew. One warrior leapt over the narrowed gap, landing with easy grace onto the mining ship's deck. His sword slid free with a metallic whisper. A violet outline of dark energy enveloped the blade.

"Ahoy, there!" the Gerudo called. "Prepare to be boarded in the name of the rightful king, Ganondorf Dragmire!"

Captain Gortram glanced over at Link. Link looked back. "It's your ship, sir."

"Aye!" He raised his axe. "Over my rotting carcass will you board this ship, you foul Gerudo scum!"

The warrior's eyes narrowed. "Oh, this is going to be _so-_"

One of the deck's wooden beams creaked. The Gerudo swung to his left, brandishing his sword. Saria froze, mid-tiptoe.

"What?" the warrior spat. "Were you actually trying to distract me?"

Saria's mask of shock abruptly melted into a wide grin. "I think I just did."

"Wha - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

The Gerudo stumbled backward as Gortram's axe bit into his shoulder. The warrior wrenched himself free, then with a feral growl he kicked the weapon out of the captain's hand, grabbed the Goron's hair with his free hand, and slammed Gortram's head into the ship's railings.

"Fool!" the interloper spat. "Your skill is to break rocks. Mine is to kill filth like you. How dare you attack me?"

Stunned, the captain lurched away. Spurred on by the hoots and cries flying from the _Skystalker_, the warrior moved in for the kill -

Only to find his path blocked by a sword-wielding Link.

The Gerudo smirked. "Think you can use that thing, boy?"

Link brought the blade to bear. A sparkling golden glow of light energy lined the polished steel. His eyes narrowed, blood thudded within. His foe was slower now, thanks to the captain. Slower, and still far too arrogant. Link swallowed. He had to time this _just _right.

Still smirking, the warrior teased an attack with a few, short jabs. The air sizzled and buzzed with crackling energy. Cheers and the thump of drums battled with the throaty roar of the two ships' engines.

Link then dived in with a sudden thrust that sent his sword clattering against his foe's. Surprised by the attack, the warrior tried to spin away, only for Link to slice in an arc that caught the man on his shoulder.

Link tensed as his foe, heaving, dropped into a new stance. The warrior wiped his mouth with his sleeve. From the calculating look in his eyes, Link knew that the Gerudo was readjusting his assessment of his opponent.

Now the real battle would begin. The energy fields enveloping each blade made their weapons feel as light as air. This would be nothing like the slow, lumbering battles of the ancients Link had read about back at the Royal Academy.

They both leapt at each other at the same instant, their swords blurring in a flurry of frantic movement - thrust, lunge, parry, whirl, thrust, deflect - faster than most eyes could follow. Golden light bled into violet.

Link, out of practice for so long, felt his left arm began to spasm and ache .There were only two ways you could win an energised sword fight against a skilled opponent, and one of those was when one person collapsed from sheer fatigue. Link pushed down the icy fear that tingled his veins and concentrated on the other way. Master Swordsmen had drummed it into both armies, training their eyes to track every enemy movement, waiting, watching, like a hawk stalking its prey. Waiting for that tell-tale moment...

_There._

The Gerudo left a sliver of a gap, and Link followed through with a thrust that pierced the warrior's forearm. Sword flying out of his grasp, the interloper threw back his head to bellow in pain. Link tugged his own blade free, leapt into the air and cracked the Gerudo's jaw with a spinning kick that sent him tumbling over the ship's railings. an ever-diminishing scream marking his flight down.

Link landed in a crouch. As he stood he slowly let his sword spin, chopping air with an electric hum, before sliding it back into its sheathe. A sudden silence enveloped the stunned Gerudo crew of the _Skystalker_. The sails of both ships flapped in the wind.

Saria, watching from behind the safety of some grubby tied-down barrels, blinked once. And then blinked again. "Wow."

"_Alert!"_ Navi cried, breaking the moment. "_Warp gate imminent!"_

Link clenched a fist. "Yes! Excellent work!"

"But I've warned you all already - it's not stable!"

"Just punch it, Navi!" cried Link.

The little fairy grinned. "_Sweet!_"

The glowing blue spiral of a warp gate erupted in the shimmering air in front of _The Righteous Maximus's _prow. Chaos exploded on the Gerudo ship as it dawned on them exactly what was happening. Urgent shouts and bellowed orders mixed with the mechanical whirr of gears and chains positioning the cannons to take aim.

Saria watched the spectacle in wide-eyed terror. "Oh boy..."

Explosive _booms_ followed. The whistle of flying projectiles was only cut short by their crunching impact against _The Righteous Maximus's _ shuddering hull. The ship lurched violently with each blow.

"Naviiiii!" Captain Gortram bellowed as he dragged himself upright. "They're tearing us apart!"

The fairy flew to the ship's prow, arms outstretched, her glistening wings reflecting the electric-blue light of the warp gate. As that self-same light began to swallow the ship whole, a cackling Navi threw back her tiny head and cried:

"HERE. WE. _GO!_"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Consciousness returned slowly, and with it a voice. Link groaned. Pain threatened to drag him back under. His sense of balance had become muddy, tagged along with some nauseous disorientation.

If he could fix in on that voice, he pull himself back to the waking world. He steeled himself. Shouldn't be too hard. Whoever it was, they had a tendency to repeat themselves.

Link kept his eyes shut. Breathe. He just had to breathe. A deep lungful of sweet, cold air.

Sound became words.

" - repeat, this is the Goron-Z Co. mining vessel _The Righteous Maximus_. Does anyone read, over?"

_Navi._

Link opened his eyes. Warm sunlight flooded in. Wood creaked and faux sailcloth flapped in the light breeze as the battle-damaged hulk of _The Righteous Maximus _floated through the daytime sky. Link lay there, watching the clouds drift, watching birds caw as they swooped through the air. Sweet relief ran through him, made his body sag.

Sunlight. Clouds. Birds.

That meant only one thing: they'd escaped. And not only that, it didn't sound like the _Skystalker_ had followed them through.

_Excellent!_

Head woozy, Link tried to pull himself upright. He slipped and groaned again. "Is..." He smacked his dry lips, then tried force some moisture into his mouth. "Is everyone alright...?"

For a time there was silence, save for the steady rhythmic throb of the _Maximus's _engines. This time Link did manage to drag himself up to a sitting position. He looked around.

Saria lay flat on her back. "Define 'alright,'" she groaned. "Is that where everything really, really hurts?"

"I'm good, Link," said Captain Gortram. He sat, too, stroking his beard and surrounded by jagged splinters of thick wood, the debris marking the _Skystalker's _attack. The _Maximus _creaked as it bobbed up and down on a current of air. Gortram gestured towards the ship's bow. "Looks like the fairy made it out fine."

"I repeat," Navi chanted. "This is the Goron-Z Co. mining vessel-"

Link tried to blink away the splitting pain. Going through an unscheduled warp gate was tougher than he'd thought. "Good," he replied. "Excellent. Now let's find out exactly where we-"

"No." Saria sat up.

"No?" said Link.

"Wait_._ Just wait." She brushed woodchips from her clothes. "That's not the first thing we're doing, no way."

"It's not?" the captain asked, his voice mild but curious.

"No. It's not. Nu-uh."

Link rubbed his head. A mild breeze ruffled his blond hair. "What?" he said. "Why not?"

"_Because,"_ Saria explained, "The first thing _you_ are doing, _Doctor_, is handing out some serious explanations."

Of course this would be coming. Link's voice was flat. "Explanations."

"_Yes_!" Saria replied, smacking her hands together. "Given that we almost just got killed, I think you owe us some, y'know?" She slapped her palm against the grainy wooden deck, then turned to Gortram. "Isn't that right? Don't you think that's right?"

When she got no reply, she turned back to Link. " Right. Right, let's see. Questions...like...like...What is that _thing _you found in the rock? Why were the Gerudo of all people so interested in it? And in _us?_ And - here's the million rupee question, I'm sure you'll agree - who in the blue blazes are _you?_"

Link shook his head. "What do you mean?"

"There's no miner who can fight like you, y'know? No miner who can use a sword like you just did,_ Doctor_."

Link didn't reply. He didn't know how to reply. He felt light energy thrum under the spot where he sat. It seemed so calming. He could just drift off...

Finally, he opened his mouth. "I don't really think we've got time for-"

"Actually," Captain Gortram cut in. "I think we do have the time."

"Captain...?"

"I agree with the sprog," he replied, jabbing a thumb in Saria's direction. "You're owing us some explanations big time, you snag? We were under some fierce pressure back there, and I allowed you to take charge. Totally against protocol, I must add."

"Totally," Saria chimed in, nodding.

"I'm not going to do so again unless I - unless both Saria and I - know where we stand with you. We're not putting our lives in your hands unless we know we can trust you. Snag?"

Link looked from one friend to the other, then sighed. Stung by their doubt, he felt his resistance slowly ebb away. "Yeah," he replied. "What is it you want to know? Everything, right?"

"First," said Gortram. "Let's-"

"_First,_" said Saria, cutting in. "You killed that Gerudo. You killed him dead. _You_ are a _doctor_ that _kills_."

Link's face crumpled. "Thanks."

"_Saria,_" the captain warned.

The young girl threw up her arms. "Fine!" she snorted. "So. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

Link pursed his lips. A heartbeat passed. And another. "The Royal Brigade," he said at last. "I was in the army."

"In the army?" Saria arched an eyebrow. "You?"

He looked her way in sour disappointment. "It's that unlikely, hey?"

"No, no," Saria lied. "It's just that...uh...you just don't seem the, um, type. Being all, er, thin, and good with, um, bandages and all that."

Link's voice curdled. "Your faith is so heart-warming, Saria."

"What? What did I say? So I don't see you as the killing type, is that wrong?"

Link blinked in surprise. "No. No, it's not."

Silence settled between them like a thick blanket before Saria added in a quieter voice. "You _were_ a bit impressive, though. Back there."

A hint of a smile touched Link's lips. "Just a bit?"

"Don't you go swelling your head now, y'hear?"

"Thanks. I think."

Saria smiled back. She jabbed the air randomly with her fist in a mimicry of swordplay. "So fast! Whoosh!" She laughed, then frowned thoughtfully. "A question."

"Go on."

"How come you're never that quick when I ask to borrow some rupees for shore leave, hmm?"

"Was?" Captain Gortram interrupted. Up until then he'd been watching and listening in a rapt mixture of fascination and measured patience.

"Sorry?" Link replied. "Sir."

"The past-tense, lad. You used it. 'I was in the army,'" The Goron fixed the young man with a cautious eye. A sleek, white bird flying too close to the ship flapped its wings noisily. "You're not with the princess's men now?"

"No, I ..." he hesitated, then just let it out with a slight shake of his head. "I...was asked to leave."

"Leave?" Saria cried. "_Leave?_ Oh, this is _too _much. Well, if you ask me - and no-one ever does, I notice - it's a bit rich of you to be preaching to us about doing our bit for the war when _you_ got _drummed out _ of Her Majesty's Armed Forces!"

Link closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This is why I didn't want to talk about it," he said. "I had - _have_ - my reasons, Saria."

"You mean _they _had _their_ reasons, right...?"

The young girl moved to speak again, but Captain Gortram took his chance again. "That thing you picked up...the one that got us the attention of the Gerudo. The blue blazes is it...?"

Saria was undeterred, though. "Aren't you going to ask the good doctor how he ended up smashing rocks with us? I think we should be told."

"It's a piece of the Triforce," Link replied quickly, turning to address the captain."Or, at least, I think it is."

Saria blinked. "The what now?"

"The Triforce." Link sighed again. He felt so very tired already. The past...the past never left him alone. "It's an ancient artifact. We even called it that - 'The Artifact.' Short, sweet and simple, that's how things were in the army. Straight to the point."

"So, what is it?"

"I don't really know, Saria. No-one did. Yeah, sure, there lots of classified files about it, lots of conjecture. Its origins are unknown. Its purpose is, too."

Captain Gortram steepled his fingers and leaned forward. "But they must have had some idea...? Some sorta theory...?"

"Yeah." Link had to clench his jaw as he felt the acidic tang of resentment seep in. "A _theory._ The army's R&D thought the Triforce could tap into light and dark energy without the need for Zayronite. And then focus that energy. Perhaps into a weapon." He shrugged. "That's what they say, anyway."

Saria threw the captain a knowing glance. "And you say _The Whistleblower _is bad?"

"It is, sprog," Gortram growled. "At least he's not babbling on about an inanimate object thinking the princess is unworthy and all that tripe."

Link noisily cleared his throat. "Can I go on...?" When his two friends lapsed into shame-faced silence, he continued, "We didn't know back then. Didn't know it had been split into three. Princess Midna thought she could end the threat of Ganondorf forever with just the one piece."

"She has one?" Gortram asked, shocked.

"She has one." Link nodded. "The Triforce of Power, I think."

"But the war," the captain went on, "it's not over yet."

"No," Link replied. "Like I said. There's three parts. We need all of them." His voice soured again. "Apparently."

"How'd the princess manage to get a piece, though?" asked Saria. "Dig it up in the palace gardens?"

"Ganondorf gave it to her."

Saria's eyes widened. "He _gave_ it to her...?"

"Yeah," Link replied. He ran his hand through his hair again. He could feel the lead weight of his heart begin to sink, felt the counter-weight of bitterness rise. "I was there." He swallowed hard as he tried to compose himself."But he took something in return. Something important. And the princess was more than happy to give that..._something_ up."

"Can't have been _that_ important, then."

Frost fell on Link's words as he slowly spat them out one by one. "It was."

Saria shrank back from the sudden darkness in his eyes. "Uh..." She gulped. "All on the account of some theory, yeah?"

"Yes."

Desperate to divert the issue, Saria tapped the bridge of her nose and frowned. "Why would he just give a piece up?"

"Doesn't matter," the captain replied gruffly. He watched Link with concern. "I don't think the lad wants to talk about it anymore."

Link blinked rapidly, then quickly tried to regain his composure. He knew his face must be giving far too much away. "No, Captain," he said, smiling both his reassurance and his thanks. "It's okay." He turned to the green-haired girl.

"We don't know. That's your answer." He softened his tone. "We don't know why Dragmire gave it up so easily. Our intel later discovered that he still had another piece. We think it was - is - the Triforce of Wisdom. He must have some way of accessing it. Which means..."

Link flipped open the pouch at his belt, then pulled the triangular shaped object free. Sunlight glistened off of its glossy surface. It wasn't metallic. Or wooden. Link wasn't quite sure _what_ it was.

His voice, when he spoke next, was barely above a whisper. "Which means this must be the Triforce of Courage..."

"You're losing us, Link," said Gortram. "I think it's best if you start from the very beginning."

Link broke out of his reverie. "The very beginning..." He stood and walked over to the ship's railing. "Right. Okay." He gazed out over the land below, his face pensive. "It all started with... _a giant three-headed fire-breathing mechanical dragon!_"

"What?" cried the captain.

"_What?_" Saria spat.

"_No_," said Link, pointing. "Look."

Both the Goron and the young girl rushed over to the ship's edge. And indeed, before their very eyes, there it was: A mammoth metal beast, burnt orange fire blazing from its three heads, sunlight glittering like molten rain off of its steel hide. Huge cogs lined its skin, turning slowly with every ponderous step. Tiny steel-tipped claws jutted out from either side. In spite of its size, the dragon moved in an eerie sort of silence.

"Oh, _that_, " said Navi absent-mindedly. "Were you wanting me to inform you?" She flashed the crew a cheery smile. "Oops! Sorry!"

Saria breathed deeply. "It's...it's actually quite beautiful. In a weird sort of way." Her widened eyes blinked. "Where did it come from?"

"Look," said Link, his voice grim. "A town."

Sure enough, a small settlement lay in the dragon's path, a sprawl of tall glass and steel spires sat in a vast green meadow. Haloed around the town were flattened metal ovals for ships to dock. None were present, save for a few squat tugboats that belched thick, black smoke as they waddled through the air.

"A port town," Gortram said, his voice hushed. "That thing's headed straight for it. Navi, where in Hyrule are we?"

"_Calculating_," the fairy replied. A moment passed, then said, "_Location: Unknown._"

Gortram slapped a meaty hand against the rail. "Perfect. Just perfect."

Ant-like figures scurried through the roads and streets lining the town below. Saria watched them, her brow wrinkled. "Why don't they go? Why don't they run away?"

"Navi," the captain barked. "Full about."

Link looked up in surprise. "No, wait!" he blurted. "Belay that order!"

Navi waited in mid-air as Captain Gortram turned to the young man. "Excuse me?"

"Captain, sir. No. With all due respect...we're just going to turn away?"

"We are not getting involved, lad," the Goron declared. "We're getting away from here."

Link turned on his captain. "We're just going to leave them to die? Is that the _right_ thing to do?"

"Link, stop it." Gortram's voice was firm. "We're miners, Link. Miners. You may have had some military training, but you're just one man."

"So? Look at how we beat the Gerudo - by working together. _Sir._"

"It was just luck, lad. Just. Luck. Luck that they only sent one man over as a boarding party. How'd you think we would've done if they'd sent a whole squadron, eh? You snag?"

"I..." Link's hands grasped at thin air as he felt that familiar tide of helplessness wash over him once more. That _loathsome_ feeling. "I...suppose you're right, Captain. I just..." A stray memory whispered into his soul: _Make your actions be beautiful, Link._

His head began to spin. He hated having to plead. "Surely there's _something _ we can do?"

"Attention."

"No," said Gortram. "Absolutely not. My mind's made up."

_"Attention._"

"Captain," said Link. "Please. Reconsider. I don't really want to stand by yet _again _in my life when people need-"

"No. The _Maximus _is too damaged. We'd be more a hindrance than a help. Look. I've got a duty of care myself, lad. I promised Saria's momma that-"

"HEY! LISTEN!"

They all looked up at the sound of Navi's voice. Sailcloth fluttered in the newfound silence.

"Thank you," she said, smiling. "Now, then. A preliminary study of the subject's tactical capability show that said target's pace and acceleration are severely limited."

"So?" said the captain, eyes narrow.

" In short," the fairy replied, "He's slow. And probably a bit stupid, too." For once, she looked a little flustered. "Um, that bit's not part of the tactical report. It's just that he just looks it." Her smile returned instantly, a picture of pure sweetness. "As such, I am highly confident that _The Righteous Maximus, _even in our current state,would have enough speed and manoeuvrability to launch an effective counter-attack."

"I told you all already, we're damaged enough as it is," growled Gortram. "I'm not risking it."

"Unless..." Saria was peering over the edge, the wind flicking at her emerald hair.

The captain narrowed his eyes. "Unless...?"

"We dropped something really heavy on it...?"

Captain Gortram threw up his hands in exasperation. "Like what? That mountain I just happened to have stowed away in the cargo bay for just such a situation...?"

"Doesn't have to be anything big," Link said, his brow furrowed in thought as he scanned the deck. "Ah ha..."

"Ah ha?" said Gortram. "I don't like 'ah ha.' What is this 'ah ha' you speak of?"

Link scooped something up off of the deck. "The Gerudo's sword. He left it behind."

"You're seriously going to challenge a sixty- foot high fire-breathing three-headed mechanical dragon to a duel?" The captain shot Link an incredulous look. "Ah ha...?"

"No," Link replied, smiling. "I'm going to jam this very sword into one of the mouths of the sixty-foot high fire-breathing three-headed mechanical dragon so that he explodes from the inside."

"Ha!" cried Saria, slapping her palm against the ship's brass railing. "Boom!" Her glee faded abruptly. "Wait. What?"

Captain Gortram's eyes narrowed. "Well, that idea's just _so _much better, isn't it?" He swung around to face Navi. "Calculate odds of success. How are his chances?"

"Just fine, thanks," she replied.

The captain's eyes narrowed yet again. "Give me a percentage, Navi."

"Oh, you don't need one of those."

"No. I do. I really do."

Navi's tiny hand patted Gortram on the shoulder. "Since when have percentages done anyone any good, hey? Can't buy a loaf of bread with percentages, can you? No siree! Percentages? Pfft."

"That's an order, Navi."

"Very well," she replied. "Chances of success: A healthy 0.01%. Sweet."

Gortram glowered at the fairy.

"Like I said," she went on, her eyes faced firmly front. "_Juuuust_ fine."

Grumbling under his breath, the captain fixed his gaze firmly back onto Link. "You were kicked out of the army. Let me guess, lad: insubordination?"

Link kept his face perfectly straight. "Partly."

Gortram looked from Link to the town then back to Link. He sighed. "There's something you're going to need."

Link clenched his fist, his lips forming a silent 'Yes!'

The captain snorted. He reached into the pouches lining his own belt, rummaged about, then pulled free a slightly tattered looking brass bracelet. Without a word, Gortram snapped it shut around Link's wrist. The young man raised it, noticed that edge furthest to him was raised. The closer edge extended out into a flat piece of metal that nestled snugly in his palm.

"Right," said the captain. "Little time to explain. This here thing's a hookshot. Useful when you're digging in caverns, snag? You form a fist, squeeze, and that sets off the trigger in your palm. Apparently, they've got enough micro-chain loaded in there to loop around the whole of Hyrule." He shrugged as if to indicate his disbelief. "Don't believe the boffins myself, but that's just me, lad.

"This is what you do: You drop from the ship. Squeeze. You hook onto us. We bring the Maximus in as close as we can to that thing, and you ram that sword in good. Wiggle it about for good measure. No. Scratch that. The sword might fall out. Just stick it in there. Squeeze again and you come straight back up. You snag?"

"My arm," Link said as he flexed his fingers. "It feels different."

"It's the hookshot bracelet," the captain explained. "Sending a mild current of light energy through your arm to strengthen it. Otherwise you'd get it torn straight off. You ready, lad?"

Link peered over the edge of the railing. Green plains veined with glistening blue rivers drifted slowly beneath his eyes. Over to his left was the port town. To his right, the dragon made its uncannily quiet approach , soft footfalls under each slow, heavy step. Tiny spirals of flame snorted from its nose.

Link felt his heart begin to thud, felt his head spin.

"Didn't we have some trust issues just a few moments ago...?"

"You want to do this thing or not, lad? Every second we waste, the closer that thing comes to killing someone. That's what this foolishness is meant stop, right?"

Link took a trembling breath. _No second thoughts now. _"Will it hold?"

"Stronger than steel this stuff. Haven't a clue how they make it." He held Link's gaze. "It'll hold."

Link nodded. "Thanks."

He closed his eyes and sucked in a lungful of air. Opening them again, he climbed gingerly onto the ship's railing, then slowly, shakily, stood. Arms outstretched, Gerudo sword in his left hand, hookshot strapped to his right wrist, he waited...waited...

"Good luck, Link." Saria's concerned voice sounded so small and tiny.

As small and tiny as all those people down below...

Link dropped. Silence followed. His stomach flew to his throat. A scream formed on his lips, but the wind stole the breath from his lungs. _Silence_. His fingers flexed. His vision spun. His mind raced.

_What do I do? What do I do? What was the plan? I've forgot the plan! What do I have to-_

He snapped his hand shut around the hookshot's trigger and squeezed.

A tiny spike shot out from the bracelet's raised edge. He heard the liquid rattle of the winch releasing, felt the spike hit the ship's railing above with a faint metallic _tink._ Searing pain marked his jolting stop. This time Link did scream, his shoulder dragged almost out of its socket. He hung there for a moment, spinning slowly, black spots dancing in his line of sight.

_Ow. If that's what it feels like with my arm 'strengthened', I'm glad I didn't do this cold..._

Finally, Link looked up. _The Righteous Maximus _was beginning a descending arc down toward the dragon.

"_Nnnnnnnnn!_" Link grit his teeth as he swung wildly from side to side, every muscle and nerve clenched. That horrid sense of helplessness that he hated so much thrummed through him from tip to toe, mixed this time with a panicked terror he was trying desperately to force down past his throat, past his hammering heart, and down to the pit of his queasy gut itself.

_What am I doing? Why did I agree to this? This is madness!_

Link blinked. He felt something warm touch his navel. He frowned.

_The Triforce...?_

He took a few more deep, ragged breaths. The wind blew past him, caressing his clothes, the long tail of his green coat fluttering behind him.

_Focus. Need to-_

"Hello."

Link yelped at the sound. The chain twisted dangerously above him, yanking his arm. He swayed wildly for a moment, dangling in thin air, then forced himself to relax, to go limp, to let his swing settle.

Link peeked up at the source of the voice. "Navi?" he cried."Navi!"

"Hello," she repeated.

"What are you _doing_ here?"

"Giving you moral support," she replied. "Look, here's me applauding you."

She clapped politely.

Link swallowed. "Can you...can you go do that somewhere else?" A sudden thought struck him. "Wait, who's piloting the ship? "

Navi smiled. "_Tactical analysis complete," _she said."Listen, there's a pattern, Link. The dragon opens his left mouth first, then his middle, then his right. He breathes fire from each, or sometimes from all three at once, but afterward always lets the right mouth stay open for a number of minutes to cool down."

"How many minutes?"

"A few."

Link sighed. He was used to Navi's idiosyncrasies and wouldn't let them bother him. What _was_ beginning to bother him was the immense open space below his dangling boots. So very vast, so far to fall...

Link quickly shook his head. "Okay," he said. "Alright. His right or mine?"

"Yours," Navi replied, smiling happily. "The captain will try and determine the correct time to make our full descent. Any last words?"

"What?"

"Wait, did I do that wrong? Oops, sorry! Not proper moral support, is it?" She smacked the side of her tiny head. "Bad, Navi. Bad! I knew I should have updated my files." She smiled again, all honey and cream once more. "Right, as you were. Don't die."

"I'll try my best," Link muttered. He watched her shoot back upward, the twinkle of her wings lost in the sharp sunlight, then snapped his gaze down onto the dragon. Two of the lithe, silvery necks slithered lazily in the air, while the other would hang back for a moment, frozen, then dart forward suddenly like a snake snapping at its prey. Link felt another surge of warmth from the Triforce.

"Come on..." he whispered to himself. "Come on."

Letting a long, slow breath escape from his lips, Link let everything fade away but his target. The world shrank in his vision. His eyes funnelled in on his quarry. The _Maximus's _engines above dimmed to a distant droning buzz. Link's sword hand clutched the hilt hard.

The dragon paused, sensing something different. Slowly, with the grind and whirr of a myriad gears, its heads turned in Link's direction. He felt his mouth dry as the dead, glowing molten eyes honed in him. Bursts of fire spat from its nostrils, smoke as black as tar billowing out behind.

Closer Link came, the wind still flicking him from side to side. He ignored the splitting pain in both his shoulder and head, ignored the shrieking protests of his terror-struck mind, and raised his sword arm, ready -

Link jerked the hookshot's chain sharply to the left just as the dragon let fly with a triple stream of flame. Scorched air sizzled his skin. Panicked, he glanced up, saw the spike still holding. Blood pumped in his ears. Shifting his vision back down, Link saw the dragon slowly turning its sleek head from side to side, as though searching.

_Navi was right. He's not too smart._

Link grit his teeth. One of the dragon's mouths was still open. _ The right! _Hearing the sudden whine of the _Maximus's_ engines above, Link knew that the captain must have seen it, too.

The _Maximu_s plunged, and Link sliced through the air in an arc aimed straight for the open mouth. Drawing back his sword arm, Link snarled in determination. A shrill metallic screech flew from the dragon. Link's snarl became a yell. He saw the black hole of the dragon's mouth come closer and closer and -

Link crashed into the dragon's head, bouncing off its side. Frustration warred with physical pain.

_Missed!_

He blinked away the dark splotches pirouetting in his eyes. As _The Righteous Maximus _began to circle around for another pass, Link turned his head to follow the dragon's path. Shock made his eyes grow wide.

Link flung his knees up to his chest as the first wave of fire came. It billowed harmlessly underneath, heat blistering through his boots to the soles of his feet. Another glance made Link yank the tinkling chain to the left as the second attack came, and yank again as the third torrent of flame, spitting and crackling, narrowly missed him. Sweat sprung out of his every pore and the skin peeled from his knuckles.

_That's it. That's all three._

The _Maximus,_ having now completed its turn, dived toward the dragon's open mouth, her engines groaning from the strain. The wind screeched in Link's ears as he plunged, The dark abyss of the dragon's maw expanded in his vision. Link's fingers danced nervously as he spun the sword once, twice -

Then snapped shut around the hilt and plunged the blade in deep. Link cracked against the dragon's head. Pain shot through his whole body. With another snarl, he released his sword hand, kicked off of the steel hide, and went spinning wildly away. He felt himself begin to rise as the _Maximus_ climbed back up.

A metallic roar bellowed from the ground. Slowly at first, then picking up speed, a series of tiny explosions detonated beneath his dangling feet. He squeezed on the hookshot's trigger and shot back up to the ship's railing, Heaving, he pulled himself over and back onto the deck.

"Link!" Saria cried.

"You alright, lad?" the captain crouched beside him.

"That was insane, Link. _Insane!" _Saria breathed. "And you actually did it!"

"We all did..." Link croaked. "You...you had the ship dive when I needed it to..."

He clung to the deck, his head spinning. Spasms of pain racked the entirety of his body. Link wanted to just lay there, just kiss the ship's wooden planks and lay there.

The _Maximus_ lurched suddenly as a momentous explosion blossomed up from the ground below. The captain threw himself over Saria. Blackened debris whistled through the sky, chased down by jagged trails of scarlet flame.

Slowly, the Goron lifted himself up, then glanced down.

"It's okay," Saria breathed. She patted his chest and smiled. "Thanks."

Captain Gortram gave her a short nod, then went over to Link and gently helped him to his feet. "It's over, lad," he said. There was an odd tremble to his voice that Link couldn't quite place. "That thing's dead. I can't believe I doubted -"

"Hey..." Saria cocked her head to the side. "What's that noise?"

"Noise?" Gortram frowned. His ears pricked up. "It's coming from...the ground?"

The crew stumbled over to the ship's railing. They all peered over the edge.

"Look at that," said Gortram in awe. "Look at all the people."

"Wow," said Saria, whistling. "They're cheering. Actually cheering."

"I like them already," chirped Navi.

Link blinked in surprise as he massaged his arm. Unfamiliar emotions stirred deep within his heart. Unfamiliar, mostly because of their tender warmth. "They...they seem pretty grateful."

Saria looked up at Gortram. "Grateful enough to let us land and make repairs, y'think?"

"Let's find out, sprog." The Captain grinned. "Let's go find out!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

In sleep's dark embrace Link dreamt...

"Hey."

Link stopped short at the sound of the voice. The Kokiri Settlement's exit bridge stretched out in front him, beckoning, tempting. A semi-circle of smoky-black reinforced glass, like a tunnel with its top half shorn clean away, the bridge promised him the freedom of escape, the hope of a new future. Just a few short steps and he'd have it right in his grasp. Instead, he turned around to face the past.

"Hey," he said.

If Link felt any surprise at seeing Zelda there, he wasn't going to show it. Instead, he shifted the weight of his travel-pack. His back ached from the strain. Not good. He hadn't even left yet.

As they faced one another people flowed past them in both directions, leaving the two of them a solitary eddy in the bustling throng. Battered supply ships, frigates and passenger cruisers flew overhead, the air awash with the rattling drone of their engines, their navigation lights cutting the sky with powerful beams.

"So," Zelda said at last, crossing her arms. Twilight approached and yet, as ever, her blue eyes shone. "You are leaving us, then?"

"Yes," he replied. "Yes, I am."

"I see," was Zelda's simple reply.

_So stiff. So formal. _He felt a twinge of regret at the thought.

The world turned chalk-white for an instant as a passing ship's immense spotlight strobed over them. Zelda watched it past wistfully, then said, "Go then."

Link almost started in surprise. "Uh..."

"Go." She made a quick shooing gesture. "Be leaving."

The bait had been dangled. And Link took it. Frustration rode the tide of his sense of rejection. "Really? You want me to go?"

"No," she replied, a little too quickly.

Link flinched as a passing ship rumbled too close over their heads. He wasn't quite sure how to follow through on his conversation, so fell back on a Kokiri's favourite topic: the weather.

"It's cold," he said. "Really cold. Don't you feel cold?"

Eyeing her, he realised that Zelda wasn't wearing a coat.

_She must have left her house in a hurry..._

"Here," he said softly as he unclipped his cloak from under his travel-pack. "Take this. Please."

Link held the tattered green cloth out to her. Zelda eyed it with suspicion.

"Why are you wearing such a silly thing?" she said as she gingerly took it from him. "Honestly!"

"Uh..." Link hadn't got an answer to that. He'd read about the ancients, how they'd always worn a cloak when travelling. He just had to try it. Secretly, he thought he'd look pretty snazzy. Judging by the odd looks and smirks he'd received so far, reality had proven herself to be a cruel mistress.

Zelda wrapped it over her shoulders like a shawl. "I am thanking you."

Again, the loss of words. For both of them.

"Link."

"Yes?"

"Your mother."

Two words from Zelda made Link freeze where he stood, any further words dying in his throat. He glanced down at his feet. Through the dark glass he saw the Kokiri river tinted black beneath him.

"What about her?" he said at last.

Zelda's voice rang thick with soft pity. "I am...being sorry to hear about your mother's passing. She was being a good woman."

Link diverted his eyes yet again. He swallowed. "Yes, she was," he breathed, his voice ragged. "Thank you."

In the silence that hung between them, Link fell the dull ache of his loss grow. It took all of his willpower to keep himself rooted to the spot and not just stalk off.

"She was fond of you," Link added.

Zelda smiled. "I am thinking the feeling was being mutual, yes?"

Link didn't really want to talk anymore. Even to Zelda. He just didn't care. Not at this moment.

He _should_ have cared, that was for sure. Not just because of his leaving, but because tomorrow night was the Night of Significance. The Kokiri certainly liked to have an excuse to celebrate, and this was just another in a long list.

This one was for everyone who had turned eighteen in the past year. In an elaborate ceremony they were to choose the object or person who had - as the name suggested - had the most significance to them in their lives so far. Most times it was a person who was invariably chosen. Family members were excluded.

And that left Link with just the one choice. Except he no longer cared. It just seemed so much meaningless fluff now that his Mama had gone.

Besides, the way Groose had been toadying up to Zelda in the past year it was clear that she had already been targeted by his former foe. The usual protocol was that you let the person in question know beforehand. And if they accepted no-one else would be bothered to ask. The way Groose had been hanging around her recently, Link wouldn't have been surprised if he'd already lost the race for Zelda.

That's why those in the know said you should always have a back-up on your list. Or three. So you don't embarrass yourself. Sort of defeated the object, Link thought, but Kokiri traditions were always a bit perplexing to him.

And yet...and yet there was a tiny part of him, a bit of him that hadn't been drowned in grief and self-pity, that longed to tell Zelda he'd chosen her. Ached for it.

He wished he could just cut that part out of him with a pair of energy-edged scissors.

"Is this why you are going?"

Link blinked, broken out of his reverie. "Sorry, what?"

"Is this why you are going?" she repeated, her eyes watching him carefully. She waited until another ship thrummed by. "Because of your mother?"

Link pursed his lips, then shrugged. "No," he said. "Not really."

"Then why...? Please be telling me."

Link looked up at her in surprise at the earnest note in her voice, his gaze fixing on those large blue eyes. "I'm not really sure."

He wasn't, it was the truth. He'd been like this for a while now, even before Mama had gotten sick. Restlessness itched at him, chafing him to the point that he just _had _to leave. There wasn't any point in wondering about it. Sometimes over-thinking wasn't that good a thing.

Seeing Zelda there, though, waiting patiently as her eyes pleaded for an explanation, Link felt some sort of dam break deep inside him, and a sudden surge of emotion spilled out onto his tongue.

"But I just wanted to say - I mean wanted to tell you - I-" Flustered, he ran a hand through his hair. He did that a lot he noticed. Why couldn't he be as cool and self-assured as Groose? Yeah, it was true, he wasn't as sickly or as stuttering as he once was, but he was still just the same old Link.

Zelda's voice was quiet and soft, almost drowned out in the surrounding bustle and noise. "Telling me what...?"

Link shifted his travel-pack again. Stupid thing was so uncomfortable. Zelda was still watching him with those large sapphire eyes. He steeled himself. It was now or never.

"Thank you," he said. "I never really said thank you for when you saved me from Mido all those years ago. And for...for...saving me -" He knew this was going to sound terrible, but he couldn't help it "- saving me from myself since then. " Link took in a deep breath. He'd had a sudden flash of insight. "I think I'm leaving...to go do the right thing. Just like you always said."

Zelda stayed silent. When words finally came to her, Link noticed that her lip was trembling. "Then I want to be saying thank you to you, too," she said. "Because you were being my friend when I was not having a single one."

Link blinked, confused. "But...I never did anything for you."

"Oh," she replied gently. "You were doing more than you imagine. Remember all the times you were finding me crying when I was little? When they were saying the bad things about me? And you would be doing your silly little dances or jumping from the trees just to be making me laugh?"

Link smiled sadly. "I remember."

A mischievous gleam twinkled in her eye. "Go on, Link! Do one now! Oh, please!"

"What?" said Link, taken aback.

"One of your silly moo-cow dancings!"

"What, are you serious? Here?" Link glanced around, suddenly embarrassed. "No!"

She giggled and pointed. "Ha! The look on your face!"

Link closed his eyes in relief. When he opened them again, he saw the smile fading from Zelda's face, saw the distance in her eyes, as though some old memory had overtaken her.

Her voice suddenly dropped. "It is being hard when you are thinking yourself all alone. And thinking that nobody has any caring for you." Something dark flashed in her eyes. "Then your mind...well, it starts to be feeding on that, starts to fester." Now her eyes seemed to turn inward, her voice but a whisper." And the hands are just revealing what the heart is trying to keep hidden..."

Link couldn't quite understand what she was saying, but somehow felt that he'd let her down. Shame bit at his cheeks. Is that why she'd wanted other friends now? Friends like Groose?

A passer-by shouldered past him, but Link now funnelled all his focus onto his oldest, dearest friend.

"Zelda, tell me," he said, his voice suddenly urgent. "What is it you really want? I mean, _really_ want. What is it I can do that'll make you really, really happy."

A sudden breeze blew, scattering Zelda's hair. People still brushed past them, but the two of them were lost to anything other than their present moment. Lost to everything but each other.

Zelda cocked her head to the side in contemplation. In that moment, she looked old. Old and sad.

"Make your actions be beautiful, Link."

"What?"

A thin smile touched her lips. "Make your actions be beautiful. That will be being your success. And be content with what you are having." Her fingers brushed against her new-found shawl. "This will be the secret of your happiness.

"Do not be being like many of these other people." She gestured absently at the crowd passing by. "Money. Fame. Attention. These are the things that will fade." Now she sounded older. Almost...ancient. "We are but being a drop in the ocean of time. What does the drop matter in the facing of the whole ocean? Nothing! So, what are they building for? What are they collecting? This is not making a mark, like they are thinking."

She held his gaze. Link stood transfixed. This was _important._ He didn't exactly why, but it just was.

A painful twitch from his back broke the moment. He flinched.

Zelda smiled, reached out for the pack's strap hanging from his shoulder, and made some adjustments.

Instantly, Link felt the burden lift from his back. He blinked in bemused surprise.

"So," Zelda continued. "This is what you should be giving, Link. Or doing, rather: Make your actions be beautiful."

He'd never heard Zelda speak like that before. Not in those words, and certainly not in that tone. He wasn't even quite sure he completely understood.

"Even little actions," she explained. "Like so." She patted the shouldered strap of his travel-pack.

"Um..." was all Link could manage in return. "I'll...do my best."

She smiled again. "Of this, I am being certain."

And as Link stood there with his heart thumping in his chest, he felt that he just had to say one more thing. He couldn't quite describe the friendship they shared but knew, right at this moment, it had never been so open or so...raw.

A sliver of movement from behind her caught Link's eyes. He saw a cleaning hover-barge approach, squat and fat, dust and detritus spinning away from under the path of its rubber skirts, its driver growling and shouting at anyone who wasn't quick enough to get out the way.

Zelda hadn't seen it. Hoping that she'd forgive him for being so forward, he suddenly snatched at her sleeve and swung her out of the way. Net result: they'd both switched positions but were now standing an inch closer to each other than before.

"I am thanking you," Zelda said, unperturbed as she peered at the barge floating past. She'd reverted back to her usual chirpy self. "See? This is what I am - Link?"

The sudden change in his demeanour had elicited the odd look from his old friend. Link loosened his limbs and tried to force himself to be casual. He'd come to a decision.

Link cleared his dry throat. "So, uh, tomorrow is the Night of Significance, hey?"

Zelda arced an eyebrow. A cautious expression flickered on her face. "Yes..?"

"So, uh..."

"You will be missing it."

"Yeah." Link couldn't quite look straight at her. His eyes danced, looking this way and that, and momentarily managed to catch the glance of a toothless old crone with straggly hair striding by. The woman flashed him a gummy grin and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Stricken, Link looked away instantly. Just in time to see Zelda struggle to stop her lips from twitching.

He narrowed his eyes. "Funny."

"It is being so, yes," she giggled.

"Look, I -" Inwardly, he sighed. Just do this and go. Leave. Don't look back. "I -I wanted to - what I mean is that I was going to...um...choose you. Tomorrow. Tomorrow night. I was going to choose you. I _am_ choosing you."

A laugh as light as air floated free from Zelda's smiling lips. Link felt himself flinch inwardly. He'd dreaded just this type of reaction.

He felt himself regress to his seven-year-old self, small and vulnerable, and deathly afraid of any human contact. He would've just turned on his heels and left, cursing under his breath, had Zelda not spoken again.

"You cannot be choosing me."

"Why?" He had to force the words from his tight throat. "Because you've already made up your mind, is it?"

"Yes."

"Who was it, then?" He surprised himself at how bitter he sounded. "Groose?"

Zelda raised a surprised eyebrow, amusement dancing in her azure eyes. "Groose? Why ever would I ...?"

Zelda shook her head, another gentle laugh kissing the air between them . Her eyes locked with his. She smiled. "You cannot be choosing me, Link," she said, her voice soft and kind. "Because I have already been choosing you." Her eyes seemed to glow in the fading crimson light. "I chose you a long, long time ago..."

###

_Recording..._

_Status Report:_

_So it turns out this place is called Haven [sponsored by the Business Scrub Association, 'Don't be a mug, deal with the Scrub!'], though it doesn't turn up on any maps **I've **got on Hyrule, and that just can't be right. The captain's thinking I need my Windfall Compass Software ™ updating because my data's all outdated and old and whatnot, and ordered me to get it sorted quick. _

_I'm thinking 'hmph,' 'meh,' and 'you wish, buddy,' all in that order._

_Also turns out the people of Haven had no idea where that mechanical dragon came from. I believed them, but the captain didn't. He asked for assurances that they were legit and on the level, some proof shall we say. So they rolled out this really slick pictovid of their scientists trying to explain it to us, and turns out it was all some big misunderstanding, that they saw the thing approaching but all thought it was some sort of big publicity stunt to sell stuff. For some reason, though, whenever anyone in the vid spoke their lips never seemed to match up to the words they were saying._

_Weird._

_But all the proof I needed..._

_So, they let us land and even offered to do repairs on the Maximus out of pure, selfless gratitude. Sweet! Though it did take us a good few hours to get down there. First, we had to sign their insurance forms, waiver liability in the event of irreparable damage due to the random attack of mechanical beasts, and we even had to trademark the name of the ship. _

_Just in case, you know?_

_Anyway, must dash. Saria and I overseeing the repair work with a Haven maintenance crew. They're far too curious. Look, one of the young whippersnappers has gone wandering off even as I speak..._

###

"No, no, it's fine." His name was Thrypwud, he lived in Haven, and he was backing away from an angry looking fairy. He squinted as rain fell into his eyes. "No, really it is."

"See?" Navi said. "You've got me all livid. I _never_ get livid. But if I catch you snooping around here _again _when you should be doing your job-"

"But I cleared it with Miss Saria," Thrypwud said as he wrung his hands. "Ask her?"

The fairy gave him one last wilting look, then glanced over at the ship's stern. "Saria?"

The green-haired girl popped her head out from one of the deck's hatches. She pushed up her safety goggles with her index finger. "Yeah?"

"He says you okayed him having a look-see down below."

"Yeah. Let him." The rain had plastered her hair to her brow. She ducked back down for a moment, then popped back up instantly. "Just don't touch my stuff, okay?"

"O-okay." Thrypwud stood his ground as the fairy, after a moment to _really_ glare at him and shake a fist in warning, floated away. Grey clouds smeared the sky overhead, but Thrypwud couldn't have cared less. At the moment, he only had eyes for _The Righteous Maximus. _He gazed around the slippery deck, still in awe. Saws cut wood, hammers slammed nails, and sparks flew, sizzling in the rain, as the Haven repair crew set to work.

This ship was huge! The greatest he'd ever seen! And the biggest wonder of all was that the crew said that there were bigger and better out there in Hyrule. He shook his head. He couldn't even picture it. He gazed around again. And _this_ was just the outside...

He crouched down, wrapped his fingers around a cold steel handle, and tugged. The hatch pulled free easily, musty air following after. Miss Saria had allowed him to go below-deck and he wasn't going to waste the opportunity. He dropped down to the middle deck and paused. A corridor of perfectly varnished wood stretched ahead of him, with doors set on either side. The crew's living quarters.

But this wasn't what he wanted to see, either. Not at all.

Miss Saria had said that even the crew didn't go down to the final deck, the cargo hold, not unless they wanted to check in on the engines. Even though he expected to see nothing down there except a big open space, Thrypwud just had to check it out.

He crouched again, peeled aside the deep blue carpet and felt his mouth water as he saw another hatch. This one took a fair amount of effort to open, but open it he did. He slipped down.

Darkness greeted him. The only illumination was the square shaft of light from the open hatch above. His heart began to thud.

_Stupid! Why didn't I bring a lantern? Or **any **sort of light..._

He'd have to go back up. He had no idea if there was corridor in front of him or just...nothingness. In the faint light, he could still make out the ladder so he grasped it with both hands, gave it a shake to test its firmness, then -

The hatch above swung shut.

Thrypwud stared straight up. He blinked. And blinked again. He heard his blood pounding in his ears. How in the world had _that_ happened...?

"Hello...?" he offered meekly. "Is anyone up there...?"

No one replied.

_Now _what? He was stuck. Well and truly stuck.

He'd just have to wait it out. They'd notice soon enough, once he'd been down here long enough. They'd search the ship, check down here, and both the fairy and Miss Saria would give him an earful of abuse.

_Oh joy.._.

Rubbing his temples, he rested his back against the ladder - and then froze. His ears pricked up.

_What was that?_

He'd heard something. A faint skittering...

Thrypwud strained his ears. The sound of his own breathing echoed back to him, sounding far too loud.

_Imagination. Just my imag-_

There it was again! A faint, scratchy whisper...

Every muscle and every nerve clenched. Ice-cold fear ran in his veins. His bladder loosened.

_A mouse. Please let it be a mouse..._

He ventured forward a step. "H-hello?" he called. "Is anyone there?"

Silence.

"Hello...?"

The response came with a deep, throaty growl: "_Hunnnnnnnnnnnn-grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rr."_

Thrypwud screamed, his arms wind-milling as he staggered back. His spine bounced painfully against the ladder as he scrambled away from it, backing up, his hands grasping in thin air.

He hit a wall. Grainy wood kissed the tips of his fingers. Thrypwud clung to it, his shirt drenched in sweat, his breath rapid and shallow. He closed his eyes, waiting.

Nothing came.

And still nothing.

His eyes opened. Had he really just imagined it...?

Slowly, with jerking movements, he craned his neck around.

"_Hunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn-grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrr."_

He saw it then. Despite the dark, despite the gloom, he saw it.

Thrypwud saw it and screamed and screamed and screamed...

...

Link watched the rain drum down onto his room's window, pooling and congealing as it ran down the glass. Beyond, the port town of Haven throbbed with life. Propeller-driven passenger boats, a small family's ideal mode of transportation, cut a gliding path through the curtain of torrential rain, white navigation lights winking.

Powerful spotlight lanterns traced energy patterns in the air, bright colours of electric green and yellow, informing you about all the wares being sold in the market and how much better your life would be if you just had the latest and greatest of what was on offer.

Perched on the end of his bed, Link saw the light show through a blurred haze. His body still ached from all his exertions against the dragon and the Gerudo, so he'd been allowed to rest, despite his protestations. Rest, and sleep. Sleep, and dream.

Link shook his head. _Make your actions be beautiful. Be content with what you are having._

He'd struggled all his life with the first, and had pretty much failed with the second.

Link didn't really want to think on why memories of Zelda were so strongly invading his sleep just right now. Thankfully, he didn't have to - a soft tap on the door made him look up.

"Link." It was Captain Gortram. "You awake, lad?"

Link swung his legs off the bed, then sat himself down at a round glass table. The furnishings - and the whole room - came courtesy of their hosts, the Haven Town Council.

"Come in, sir," he said.

The door opened with a soft click, and the Goron stepped in. "How you doin, boy?" he said, grinning. He held two metal mugs in his hand and, as he plunked himself down opposite Link, he slid one over. "Get that down you. It's a local recipe."

Link sniffed it with suspicion, then brought it tentatively to his lips. The nectar was sweet and ice-cold. Refreshing.

"Good, eh?" said Gortram.

Link nodded. He took another sip, not really knowing what to say. A thought came to him. "I've still got your hookshot."

_"Your _hookshot, lad," said the captain. "You keep it."

Link felt too tired to protest. "Thanks," he replied. "So, how's it going, hey? The repairs...? How's Navi and Saria?"

"Good, good, everything's good."

Link waited. It was obvious Gortram had something he wanted to get off his chest. He just wished the captain would just get to it.

Link nursed the mug, felt his fingertips tingle from the cold. "Soooooo..."

"Right." Gortram cleared his throat. "You were an army boy, eh?" He watched Link closely. "You know what? I was going to join the Royal Brigade once."

"Really?"

"Aye. Went to all the recruitment drives. Even half-filled in the application."

Curiosity piqued, Link took another sip and waited for the captain to explain. Shadows cast by the rain outside danced patterns on the glass tabletop.

"I did a bit of pondering, if you will," Gortram said at last. "I know all about the Gerudo, you know. Their history. Before they warped in from their desert world, whatever-in-the-blue-blazes they call that place."

"News to me," said Link. "I know what I was told at the Academy. But I'm guessing what you've got is different...?"

"Aye." The captain took a long swig from his mug. "They were good with their hands."

"Just like the Gorons, hey?"

Gortram nodded. "Aye. And just like us they made a lot of stuff. Good quality. Good craftsmanship."

"Uh-huh."

"And some of their stuff was useful. Others...well, yeah, it looked nice, there was a certain aesthetic that was good on the eye. But it was the kind of thing you didn't really need, you snag?"

"Yeah."

Gortram waved at the light show outside. "See that? They had that, the Gerudo did. Conning them into thinking all that useless stuff was that they really wanted the most.

"Now there ain't nothing wrong with that, if you're doing it on the side, like. But the Gerudo, it's all they obsessed about. Everything else was thrown aside. Friends, family, _morals._

"And then you got the people selling this stuff. The lows _they'd _stoop to just for a bit of coin."

"Okay," said Link, his voice flat. His fingers tapped the glass tabletop.

"Hold on, lad, I'm getting to my point," Gortram growled. "Honestly, you young folks - no patience."

Link smiled. "Actually, you sound a little like an old friend of mine..."

"I do, do I?" He slurped noisily at his drink. "Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah...the stuff I learnt about the Gerudo? I saw the exact same thing in my own people. In all the people in the princess's Hyrulean Alliance. Maybe not as bad, no. But it was there."

"Except," Link was quick to add. "The difference was - is - one man."

"Aye," the captain replied. "Dragmire. He hated what he saw. Hated the fact that the Gerudo had got so soft that, if they weren't so comfortable, they'd probably die of hunger since they didn't know how to do _anything _except worry and fuss over what to buy.

"It took him a while, but he did it. He figured the only way to get his people to get out of their rut was to unite them in a common goal. Only problem was that that goal involved him infecting them with his own lust for cruelty and pain.

"I looked at them Gerudo, the way they were. And then I looked at my people, I looked at the Gorons and the people in the Alliance. And I wondered... if I joined the Brigade, what exactly would I be fighting for?"

Link remembered the coldness with which Princess Midna had sacrificed Zelda. He took a drink, then licked his lips. "You start to think if the people you're fighting for aren't just the same as the people you're fighting against."

"Exactly," the Goron replied. "But, thankfully, things aren't that bad yet."

"No."

"And don't get me wrong, I don't want those scum Gerudo winning the war. I ain't saying I'm right or anything, either. Judgemental old sod is what Saria calls me. Maybe she's right. But back then, it's just that I figured I'd be more use on a different front. The Zayronite we dig up ain't just for the Brigade, you know. Ordinary people make use of it as well. If that makes me a coward, then..."

"No," Link replied. "I understand. Really."

Raindrops tapped out a rhythmic beat on the window. The silence that had fell between them eventually got so unbearable that Link just had to break it. "What do they call this stuff?" he said, lifting the mug.

"Koola, or summat like that," the captain replied. He smacked his lips. "I like how it just buzzes on your tongue."

"Don't give any to Saria," Link warned. "You'll never get her off it."

Gortram flashed a thin smile. Another awkward silence followed, pregnant with expectation. The captain kept his level gaze on Link. "So," he said after a long pause. "Who is she?"

Link blinked. "She?"

"Oh, come on, lad," Gortram said, leaning back in his chair. "You said the princess exchanged something important with Dragmire. For that Triforce piece. I'm guessing from the way you reacted that _it_ was a _girl_."

For a moment, Link was at a complete loss for words. Denials formed on his tongue, armed with angry protestations. He closed his eyes. The rain drummed. His head throbbed. Really, why waste the effort?

Instead, Link smiled an acknowledgement as his eyes opened once more. "She was a friend. A childhood friend." A wistful lilt caught on his voice. "I don't even know if she's still alive."

There it was. Spilling from his very own lips. The fear. The fear that he'd held onto for so very long now. Link felt it all suddenly break free. "I stood by and did nothing, Captain. _Nothing. _I just stood by and let the princess hand her over. Who does that to a friend? _Who? _I promised..."

His voice died in his throat. Link swallowed, then gazed into his mug. He could do with a refill.

Gortram offered no words, no comforting reply. The rain continued to patter down. Link, not wanting to even face his older friend, decided to watch that instead. The strength of his own self-loathing surprised him.

It was a while before the captain spoke again. "You went looking for her, though. Right?"

"Yeah. After I'd given the princess a piece of my mind."

"Ha!" Gortram cried. "Classic!" Realisation made his eyes bulge, and he quickly cleared his throat. "I mean, that was very disrespectful of you, lad. Very bad. Let me guess - they didn't take kindly to that, eh?"

"No," Link replied sadly. "That's how I was discharged. I tried. Really, I did. But without military resources helping me, trying to find Zel - to find my friend - it was just plain impossible. Ganondorf Dragmire doesn't want to be found."

"So then...?"

"I felt I had to do _something_, you know?" Link's fingers grasped at thin air as the frustration set in. "So at first, while I worked on improving my med skills, I thought I'd tell people about the princess. What she's really like. Get the word out there."

"Didn't take you for the vengeful type." The captain took another sip before something flashed in his eyes. The mug hit the table with a metallic thud. "Oh, _no_. You are kidding me? Please say you're kidding me."

"What?"

"You worked for _The Whistleblower, _didn't you?"

A sheepish grin spread over Link's lips. "I may have helped out a bit..."

"Right. You're not telling Saria this. No way."

Link laughed. "Yeah, alright..."

"And then?"

"And then I got tired of all that. Wasn't feeling it anymore."

"Got sick right in the soul, eh? It happens."

"Yeah. It _was _a bit petty." _Certainly not an action made beautiful..._ "So I thought I'd figure out a different way to help out. Combine my med skills with the physical stuff I'd learnt with the Brigade."

"So you became a miner. Or, more specifically, the mining medic." Gortram nodded in approval. "So we got a bit in common, eh lad?"

Link nodded.

"Ha!" the captain cried. "No wonder all your files are classified! Never wanted to pry, but I did wonder..."

"You never asked."

"I don't, lad," Gortram replied. "Unless I've got a need to know. And I think I do now..."

"So," Link said with a sigh. "Now wha-"

" - Don't you dare call me 'sir' -"

"Now what, _boss?_"

"Ha!" the captain said. "Well. We still don't know why Dragmire took your friend. Or what the actual significance of that Triforce thing is. What're you planning to do with your piece?"

"I haven't thought about it." It was the truth.

"Right. Well, I'm sure you'll let me know." The captain suddenly leaned in close. "Keep your eyes peeled, though. Something's not right. This whole place not showing up on Navi's charts. The way they're just 'helping' us fix the _Maximus_."

"The way a metal dragon just turned up out of nowhere making a bee- line for this place?"

Gortram smiled grimly. "You've been thinking it through, too," he said, satisfied. "Good lad."

"_Captain._"

The Goron looked up, puzzled, then pressed an ornate button sewed into the lapel of his shirt. "Gortram here. Yes, Navi?"

"_We've found them, Captain._"

Gortram's perplexity grew. He threw Link a questioning glance, but the young man only shrugged, equally befuddled.

"Found _who_, Navi?"

"_Anju and Kafei._"

The captain shot to his feet. "Anju and Kafei? Here?" His grin was broad and genuine. "How'd they get here? How are they?"

"_Captain_._" _Navi's voice was uncharacteristically grave. "_Please come to the_ _Maximus_._"_

Link felt his heart sink. "Boss?"

"Let's go."

Exchanging another glance, the two men ran out the door, through winding passageways wiped clean and stinging with the scent of disinfectant, then ran out into the rain. They reached the dock in no time. A crowd had already formed around the _Maximus_.

"Out the way," the Goron barked as the two of them slowly pushed their way through. "I'm the captain."

Link's mind raced. Anju and Kafei, the two expert geologists that, until recently, had been an integral part of their crew. Anju and Kafei who, though they kept themselves to themselves, always had a friendly word for Link. Anju and Kafei, who had mysteriously disappeared one night, in spite of the crew's best efforts in searching for them.

The two men burst through. Anju and Kafei...

...whose shrivelled corpses now lay decaying at their feet.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"No, no, no, no, _no._"

That was Saria, her eyes rimmed red. She wasn't taking this all too well.

_That's a shame,_ thought Gortram. _Because I just don't have the luxury to offer her even a morsel of comfort._

He wished he could, of course, but just right now he was too busy struggling to find his own voice. "What happened here? What. Happened?"

The rain had thinned to a faint drizzle, and the Goron captain breathed in cold, fresh air. In, out. In, out. It should've been invigorating. It wasn't.

His boots rang out a gravelly tune against the wet concrete below as he slowly circled his fallen crewmates. Link was crouching over them, rubbing his chin, his face blank. Navi hovered beside Saria in solemn silence. The younger girl now had her fist stuffed in her mouth.

"I'm not accustomed to talking to myself, people," the captain growled. "_What happened here?"_ His fingers flexed uselessly. Something was unfortunate enough to get in the way of his boot. He kicked it away viciously. "I want details. All of them."

A murmur rippled through the Haven crowd. The Goron threw them a glare. _The blue blazes we got an audience for? Don't these people know the slightest thing about privacy?_

Clearly they didn't as the next voice to ring out confirmed: "What's going on here? What's going on? Let me pass! Let me through!"

Gortram resisted the urge to rub his temples. They'd met _this _fellow when the _Maximus _had first made contact. It was the town of Haven's Lord Mayor.

Draped in an over-tailored black and gold suit and flanked either side by two larger men wearing tinted frames to protect from the glare of the nonexistent sun, the Lord Mayor pushed his way through the clog of people. Captain Gortram chewed on the inside of his cheek. He hadn't liked the man when they'd first met, and he liked him even less now.

The townsfolk hadn't got the hint, though. Emboldened by the appearance of their leader, they stepped forward as one.

_Enough._

Gortram bared his teeth and snarled.

That did it. The sight of a Goron going feral wasn't very pretty at all.

Slowly the crowd began to disperse, muttering under their collective breath. A battered tugboat putted overhead, swaying from side to side. It amazed the captain that, despite everything, life went on regardless.

"I say," the Lord Mayor chirped as he watched his folk slouch off in frustrated disappointment. "Was that really necessary?"

"I _say," _the captain mocked. "I do believe it was." He rounded on the Mayor. "_What_ do you _want_?"

The Lord Mayor surveyed the scene, then straightened his tie. Heavy gold jewellery hanging from his neck tinkled as he moved. "Explain."

_Yes, Your Haughtiness._

Gortram looked from the Lord Mayor to his ship's fairy. "Navi?"

"Acknowledged," she replied. "Status report: Unfortunate. Well. Basically, they're dead. We found them in the cargo hold, Captain," She seemed to be making a point of ignoring the Mayor.

"What were they doing in there?" the Goron growled. "The blue blazes were _you_ doing in there as well?"

"One of the maintenance men had gone missing," Navi explained patiently. "Designation: Thrypwud. While we were searching for him, we found Kafei and Anju."

"And the other fellow? Thrypwud?"

Navi pointed. Another body lay under a sheet that fluttered as it was pelted with light rain.

"Now, now, now," the Mayor chimed in. "This is unacceptable. Terribly unacceptable. How could you let this happen? You assured us no such thing would happen."

The captain thought he'd need to get some special cream to soothe all the chafing his irritated nerves were going through just right now. He needed a break. A long trip to a Zora Bliss Beach sounded mighty fine just right now.

"How did _we _let this happen?" he spat. "What are you on about, man?"

The Mayor favoured the Goron with a cool gaze. He held out a hand. One of his minions placed an elaborate scroll tied with red ribbon in the outstretched palm. The paper turned yellow with fat splotches as the raindrops hit. With a snap of his wrist, the scroll unfurled.

Gortram was getting just a little tired of all the theatrics. He gritted his teeth. _Just stay calm. You already blew your top with the crowd. _

His molten fury abated. Slightly.

Distraction. He just needed a distraction. He focused his eyes on a point behind the Mayor's head, a tall tower stretching into the clouds. A red beacon light winked at the top.

With his free hand, the Mayor had pushed a gold-rimmed monocle into his squinting left eye. He cleared his throat. "The undersigned so do agree that they will not bring to the peaceful town of Haven any death, destruction or further derring-do. And here are your names. See?" Paper ruffled as he wagged it in front of the captain. "We'll have to pay extra premium for this, I dare say."

Gortram considered the dangling contract with barely concealed disgust. Eyes still squarely stuck in the direction of the tower, the captain said, "Navi. Rewind and play back. I want to know exactly what went down."

"On it." Navi's eyes glowed green, iridescent numbers and letters spilling down the surface of each retina. "_Scanning._" Her wings buzzed in the ensuing silence, accompanied only by the whisper of rain and the rumble of shipping traffic above. "_Files not found."_

The captain turned to her. "Not found? What you on about, lass? How can that be?"

The little fairy frowned. "It looks like they've been... I don't know, deleted? Or they were never even there in the first place...?"

"_Deleted?"_ the Goron cried. "This ain't making much -"

"Now, now, now," the Lord Mayor cut in. "That's not the issue here. Not at all, no."

"It's not?" the captain muttered.

"No." The Mayor straightened his tie again. "The issue here is who is going to pay for these funerals? Hmm? Because it's not coming out of this year's budget, let me tell you right now."

Snarling, Gortram swung back around to the man. "How about you -"

His words drowned in his throat.

"What?" the Mayor said, confused. "What is it?"

"Behind you," the captain replied, his brow creased. "There was a tower behind you. In the distance."

"So?"

"It's not there anymore! How could it-"

"Um." Saria's quiet voice made everyone turn her way. A faint mist of rain hissed in the pause."I know what it is."

Link, silent till now, frowned. "What's 'it'?"

"The thing in the cargo hold," she replied. "I think I know."

"What thing?" said the captain. "What do you mean?" He paused. "You saying there's something alive in our ship?"

"What else could it be, Cap?" Saria replied, sniffing away the last of her tears. "Something alive? Uh-huh, yeah, I'd think so. Take a look at Thrypwud over there. He's got marks on his chest. _Claw_ marks."

The captain wasn't in the mood to check. "Navi? That right?"

"Affirmative."

"It _is _right," Link added. He was still hunched over the bodies of their crewmates. "There's claw marks here, too." He pointed. "Right there." He pointed again. "And there."

Gortram swung his gaze back to Saria. "So what's your angle, sprog?"

She hesitated, her lips searching for the right words. "It's - it's...Look, don't laugh, 'kay? I read about it. Some ships, some _really _old ships, they can get contaminated with this bacteria stuff when they go through one too many warp gates. And one type of bacteria - it's called the Null Virus, yeah? - it starts off really, really small, then it grows and grows till it gets all clever and - oh, what's the word?"

"Sentient," Link offered.

Saria clicked her fingers. "Yeah, that's it! The Null gets all sentient. A sentient worm. And it just feeds on things, living things, and its gets all these powers, like maybe it can delete files and whatnot?" She'd run out of breath and so stood there with chest heaving. "What do you think?"

Captain Gortram clucked his tongue in thought. "Let me guess - _The Whistleblower _again, right?"

Saria shrugged. "Maybe..."

The Goron threw Link a surreptitious glance. Link returned it with a shrug of his own. Clearly the lad wasn't in the day _that_ particular issue had been released.

"What is all this nonsense?" the Mayor asked. "What does this mean?"

"It means," the captain replied as he gazed thoughtfully at his ship. His fingers trailed the length of his beard. "We need to go into the cargo hold and check this out."

Link stood up. "I'll go."

"Oh yeah?" Gortram said reluctantly. "Is this how it is now, lad? Whenever there's danger, we just send you in...?"

Link smiled. "It gives me something to do."

"It's my ship," the Gerudo replied. "It's my job." He blinked. "Come to think of it, didn't we check the cargo hold when Anju and Kafei first went missing? Checked the recordings back then?"

"Null powers," Saria answered. "It made us see what it wanted us to see."

"Null powers," Gortram said sourly. "_Riiight."_

"Let me just check it out, boss," Link added. "Just to make sure the coast's clear for you, hey?"

Captain Gortram eyed him for a moment. A reluctant sigh soon followed. "Take this." He pulled a shell-shaped object from his belt."It's a clam-com. Nabbed it when I was last in Domain de Zora." His voice dropped. "Cost a pretty penny, too, and you know how much I hate spending coin on anything useless, so you'd best appreciate it."

Back to his normal tone, Gortram added, "It'll patch you in right here." He tapped the communicator button perched on his own lapel. "Snag?"

Link nodded.

"You've got an hour before I come in after you. And take Navi."

Link clipped the com onto his belt. "If I've got Navi, I don't need this. She can contact you."

"Just in case, lad," the captain said, his fears left unsaid. "Just in case. And besides, no way are you doing this all on your lonesome. No way at all."

...

Link slid down the ladder into the gaping dark of the _Maximus's_ cargo hold, Navi floating fast behind. He stood, testing his footing, then drew his sword. Golden energy crackled to life instantly. Couple that with Navi's naturally glowing form and Link thought he'd have all the light he'd need. He didn't really want to carry around a lantern or lamp. Just in case he needed his free hand.

It wasn't doing much good, though. Darkness still surrounded them on all sides, and Link could barely see more than a couple of feet ahead of him. He could go back and get a light, sure. Or he could just trust his instincts.

Link chose the latter.

_Doubt a lantern would be that much better anyway._

Holding his sword out in front of him, he cautiously stepped forward. Every beat of his heart brought with it a hard knot of numb grief. Sure, he wasn't _that_ close to either Kafei or Anju, but seeing them all drained of life like that had brought with it a sudden realisation. These people were more than just friends to him. They were family.

Link shook his head. He was getting far too sentimental. Maybe a side-effect of all these dreams he'd been having recently...?

He focussed on his task. It was the best way to keep him from dwelling on anything else.

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

Link glanced down at his belt. The captain's clam-com was vibrating. Gortram had certainly been in a giving mood recently. First the hookshot, and now this.

_I'll be getting the ship next..._

Link scooped the device into his hand, then flipped it open. "Link here."

"Lad," the captain's rough, warm voice replied. "Just checking in. How is it?"

"It's all good, boss. So far."

"Right. Um. Just wanted to test the equipment. Keep me posted."

Link put a smile into his voice. "Will do. Link out."

He re-attached the com to his belt, then peered into the gloom again. "Looks like it's just you and me, Nav."

"Joy."

Link smiled. Their voices rang with a dull metallic echo. No doubt due to the cavernous nature of the cargo hold. Wood creaked under Link's boots as he moved onward. His eyes tried to scan the dark.

"Why did we never install any lights down here?"

"No need to," the fairy replied. "We're not a cargo ship."

"Right," he replied, his voice soft. "Cost cutting."

He swallowed. Wave upon wave of darkness hit his eyes. His sword barely cut through. No noise reached his pricked his ears except the sound of his boots, his breathing, the electric crackle of his sword and the faint fluttering of fairy wings.

"You see anything, Nav?"

"No."

"What's up?" he said, eyes still searching. His voice was distracted. "Tactical vision not working?"

"No," she replied testily. "It's just dark, you know?"

An echo of something odd struck in the tremor of her voice. He glanced over at her. "You okay?"

"I'm not scared. Don't even think it."

"It's alright."

"I bake cup-cakes in the face of death."

"It's _alright, _Nav. It's not like I never feel afraid, you know?"

Navi snorted. "That's why you go jumping off a flying ship to fight robot dragons? I think not, buddy."

Link sighed. "I liked you better when you were always happy."

"I _am. _Watch." She smiled sweetly. "_Calculating. _I believe that there is a 97% chance of our been torn to blood-mangled shreds by some maniacal fairy-ravishing beast in the next three minutes." She gave a little shudder. "Ooh, that felt good."

"'Fairy-ravishing...?'"

Navi shrugged, all smiles once again. "Monsters. What can I say? They have good taste."

"That's better," said Link.

"Better?"

Link poked at something in the dark with his sword. Steel scraped against the wooden curve of the hull. He tried again in another direction.

Nothing.

"Yeah, better," he replied at last. "You sound like yourself again."

"I told you I wasn't afraid."

"Uh-huh." _Where could it be? Where? _"You did _sound _it. A little."

Link's eyes continued to search. Something cold and stringy stuck to his face. A cobweb. He kicked at something unseen. Silence followed. Link felt his skin prickle. His heart was pumping just a tad too fast. He didn't like the quiet. Not here, anyway.

"Nav."

"Yes?"

"What's it like being a fairy?"

"I don't know. What's it like not having any wings?"

"What would it be like for you?"

"Torture."

"What about being plugged in? Constantly plugged in. To the ship. To the Hyrulean DataNet. The _only _beings in the whole world who can. All that information. How does that feel?"

A pause, then: "_Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet._"

Link laughed just at the same moment a soft noise reached his ears. He froze. Link waited, chest thudding. He held up his hand. There - there it was again! A faint papery scratching. Eyes squinting, he peered forward -

Then jumped as a pair of leathery wings fluttered into his face. He dodged to the side, allowing the hairy, squeaking thing to fly away zig-zagging through the air.

He stood for a moment, heaving as he tried to steady his heart. "Keese," he said, his voice blank. "We have actual Keese."

Navi nodded. "We really need to have a clear out. I'll add it to my to-do list."

They walked on. Link's sword hummed in the air, its golden outline striking against the solid black.

"Link?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you should call the captain."

"Why?"

"Tell him everything's just fine. He loves it when I do that."

"Don't ever change, Nav."

"Oh, and Link?"

"Yes?"

"You know how I said I wasn't scared?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"That's because it wasn't my fear I was feeling."

Link stopped short. "What?"

"I said," Navi replied. "It wasn't my fear I was feeling." She pointed. "It was _his._"

It peeled out of the darkness with an otherworldly howl, a great hulking beast with a greying tree-trunk for a body and spiked branches for claws. A crown of wooden spikes, bone white, sat atop its head. Its limbs crunched and cracked with every move. Rivulets of dark energy the colour of burnt orange threaded all the way through its misshapen form. It waited, narrow green eyes cautiously regarding the two friends.

All the moisture in Link's mouth dried instantly. His brain tried to compute the impossibility of the thing. There was no light, and yet he could see it as though they were all standing under the silver glare of the summer sun.

Needle-like teeth parted. "_Hunnnnnnn-grrrr."_

"Link - _evasive_!"

He didn't need telling twice. As a great clawed hand swooped in toward him, Link ran up the curve of the hull, lightly kicked off of the side wall, pirouetted harmlessly over the attack, swung his sword in a downward arc that struck the creature's arm, then landed gracefully in a fighting stance.

The beast reared back on its heels and roared in pain. Link's ears pricked. The sound was strange, different. Almost like the mournful song of a whale. He pushed the thought away.

Link waited, his feet dancing slightly in anticipation. His sword purred with energy. Fear pumped in time with the beating of his heart.

The creature looked at him then. It looked at him with those narrow green eyes. Their gazes locked. In the distance, Link could hear Navi calling to him, but she may have been shouting from underwater for all he cared.

Still they stood, unmoving. Intuition told Link that the creature was fantastically fast, that if it wanted to, it could snap out a claw and stop Link's heart dead right there.

And yet it didn't make a single move.

Their eyes locked again, Link and the monster.

Link pounced. Sword-arm outstretched, he leapt in with a thrust to the chest. The creature blocked with apathetic ease, its forearm batting away the blow. Link rode the momentum, spinning around completely until he faced the monster again.

Its attention had shifted. Its eyes were hungrily following Navi as she buzzed here and there. Clawed fingers twitched. It waited, coiling all its energy, ready to strike if the fairy came too close. Joints popped in the dark as the thing lowered itself to one knee, and prepared itself.

Link had seen enough. He knew an opportunity when he saw one.

Something in the back of his mind sent off a shrill shriek of warning. There was something odd about all this. Something that should give him pause.

He didn't listen.

Link ran, jumped onto the creature's foot, used the momentum to jump up further onto its bent knee, then leapt forward, plunging his sword home.

Energy crackled. A series of pops and sighs ran down the length of the monster's body as it began to collapse in on itself. Their eyes met again. What Link saw there, he couldn't explain, but it disturbed him to the core, a dark smudge on his soul.

Link tumbled awkwardly to the ground as the creature folded in on itself, then vanished in a swirl of purple smoke.

"Navi...?" he called as he looked up. "Navi, you okay?"

The smiling fairy shot up into his line of sight. "Present and accounted for."

"Good," he said wearily. "That's good."

Link sat there for a long time, his mind slowly ticking things over. Navi floated in silent patience. It wasn't long before Saria and Gortram came calling, their voices echoing from above.

"I'm alright," he called back at them. "We both are. We're coming."

Link stood, and brushed dust and dirt off of his long coat.

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

He let free a long breath. The captain was certainly being persistent.

Link flipped the clam-com open. "Captain, I said we'd be -"

White noise exploded in his ear. Link flinched, instinctively jerking the com away. He blinked away painful tears, then, gingerly, he slowly brought the device back close. Noises followed:

_Chzzzzzt-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-_

Link frowned. He brought his lips to the com. "Hello?"

"_Link of the Kokiri Settlement."_

He knew two things instantly: it was a male voice, and it wasn't the captain's.

"Who is this?"

"_It's a lie. Focus."_

"What?"

"_It's a lie. Don't trust."_

A soft click followed. Then silence. Link peered at the com. He gave it a little shake, then tried again. "Hello?"

It appeared to be dead.

"Navi," he said. "Do you know where that call came from? Do you have the tech to trace it?"

"What call?" the fairy replied, buzzing happily.

"The one I just received."

"_Scanning._" Incandescent blue light poured out from her eyes. It ran up and down the clam-com. A pause, then: "Nope. Your com hasn't received any calls in the last sixty seconds. The last call was from Captain Gortram approximately fifty-four minutes ago."

"But...you must have heard me talking...?"

"So? You talk a lot." She considered her answer, then added: "Usually when you're asleep."

Link threw her a sour look, then took one last look around the still dark cargo hold. "Let's just go, Nav."

It didn't take them long to reach the deck. When he came out into the open air, Link had to squint in the sunlight. He gazed around. He blinked. Then blinked again. Well. This was new.

_The Righteous Maximus _sat in an immense green field, anchor ploughed deep into the earth, and surrounded by swaying grass, rustling trees, the warm sun and the sickly sweet scent of flowers in the air. Captain Gortram was patting down the dirt on two fresh mounds. Saria sat perched on a tree stump nearby, idly swinging her legs. She waved as Link and Navi dropped down to the ground. "Took you long enough," she said. "We were getting worried."

"Sorry," Link replied. "What's going on?"

"Uh," she said with a sheepish smile. "I was wrong. It wasn't a Null. It was a Wind Fish."

Link eyed Saria carefully. She was smiling, she was chirpy, but the sadness in her eyes showed just how much she'd been affected by what had happened. Diversions. That's all they needed. That's all they had.

"What's a Wind Fish?" he asked.

"Never mind that now," Gortram said, grinning. Looked like the captain was taking Saria's lead, too At least in the case of dealing with his grief. "Never mind that. At. All."

He grasped Link by the shoulders and gave him a good shake. "You did it. _Again."_

Compliments never sank in on Link. He knew himself too well.

"Now," the Goron went on. "We better get that carcass out of the hold."

"There isn't one," Link replied, distracted. "It just disappeared."

"Good job."

"What's a Wind Fish?" he repeated, then added for good measure, "Where is everyone? What happened to Haven?"

"Well," Saria replied. "It's like a mutated techno-organism."

Link's academy studies flitted back into his head. "Doesn't that just affect fairies?"

"Well, yeah. How else do you think her files got wiped? But get this: The Wind Fish has another trick. It can use psychic energy to, um, make stuff."

The captain picked up the thread. "Basically, it's all in its head. It gives its own imagination form and substance. When it dies, its manifestations die, too."

Link blinked in surprise. "So. Haven? The dragon?"

"Not real," said Saria. "Well, not quite."

"Not quite...?"

Captain Gortram gestured toward the ship. "They're real in the sense that we could touch 'em, and they could touch us. Look at the _Maximus._"

Link shaded his eyes and peered up. "The repairs are still in place."

"Yup," the Goron replied, nodding. "Not just that. He even added an extra. A cannon would you believe."

"_And _fresh supplies!" Saria added with a giddy smile. "I checked myself."

Link shook his head, perplexed. "But why?"

Saria was flicking at her fingernails. Birds whistled pleasantly in the distance. "I reckon it built up a relationship with the ship. A sym- a sym -"

"Symbiotic."

"Yeah. Thanks, Link." She smiled. "A symbiotic relationship. So when the ship got damaged, the Wind Fish got hurt. It must've built up this whole elaborate plan to get us to land in his imaginary town and use his imaginary people to get us fixed."

"Why's it called a Wind Fish?" Navi asked. "It didn't look anything like one. A fish, that is."

"_You_ tell me," Saria said. "You've got all that information at your little wing-tips, y'know? I'm guessing it was named after some ancient creature. Something that had similar powers, yeah?"

Link looked pensive. "I think it wanted to die."

Gortram raised an eyebrow. "Don't be like that. It did kill, you know. Our friends are dead. It killed one of its _own_ imaginary men as well."

Saria frowned. "Does that even count?"

"No, it's true," Link said. "It didn't fight back as much as I expected it to. In fact, I think it only attacked to provoke me into killing it. Navi even said she felt his fear."

The little winged woman nodded an affirmation.

"Fairies pick up on techno-organisms like that." Gortram stroked his beard. "But why would it want to die?"

"I don't know," Link replied, his face troubled. "I don't think we'll ever know."

"Link. Hey." It was Saria. "You're not going there, are you? Taking it all personally and all that? I mean, really?"

He offered a non-committal shrug. "I am the doctor that kills. You said it yourself, Saria. What if it needed help? What if it was in pain and felt this was its only way out?"

"You'd have helped it? Really?"

He gestured at the ship. "It did help us."

"You didn't know that at the time. _Anyway." _She shook her head. "Can you imagine how long it must've been down there? Just underneath while we all slept? Brr!" She shuddered. "What did it look like, Link? Gerudo-class ugly, I bet."

Distracted again, Link just shook his head. "Hungry," he said. "It said it was hungry."

"Well," Saria replied. "Wind Fish feed on life energy. After Anju and Kafei, maybe, I dunno, it grew to like the rest of us...?" She threw meaningful glances at the captain, desperate for him to help change the subject.

Gortram caught the hint. "Over here, everyone," he said, his voice solemn. "Come on, snap to it. We've got some goodbyes to be giving."

Saria hopped over to him. Link joined after a moment's pause, Navi at his shoulder. They had gathered around the freshly made mounds of earth. Graves, Link realised. The graves of their crewmates.

"I'm not one for the speeches," the captain said. "And, to be honest, I like it that way. Words won't cut it here."

The remaining crew of _The Righteous Maximus _stood in silence for a while, lost in their own individual thoughts. The soft breeze winded around them, caressing gently, and whispered through the grass tickling their ankles below. The sun began to descend.

It was Navi who eventually broke the moment. "_Incoming message!" _she cried in a sudden flutter, her eyes blinking red. "_Priority Alert!"_

Captain Gortram started, torn suddenly from his deep reverie. "What? A message? For _us?" _He glanced around at the rest of the crew, none of whom could offer an explanation. "Play it, Navi."

"_Acknowledged."_

Twin shafts of light burst out of Navi's eyes. They focused on to a point hovering a few feet above the ground. A series of wavy lines slowly congealed themselves into the shape of a flickering head.

Link felt his face harden. He stood still, rigid as a statue. Captain Gortram, on the other hand, found himself gaping. He quickly dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "Your Majesty?"

"_Is this secure_?" Princess Midna appeared to be addressing someone to her left. A voice followed, incomprehensible, but it seemed to be enough to satisfy the woman. She turned to face the crew. Her mouth moved, but a burst of static drowned out her words.

"_ - entified ship. Do you read?"_

Flustered, the captain turned to Link. "What do you say, lad? What should we do?"

"_Unidentified ship. Do you read? This is Princess Midna._"

Link's eyes never left the woman's floating image. "Answer her, boss."

Gortram swallowed, then nodded. "Your Majesty, this is Captain Gortram of the Goron-Z Co. mining vessel, _The Righteous Maximus._" Unsure, he swallowed again. "You honour us with your presence."

_"Ah, I see you now._" Her eyes wandered from Gortram to Saria to Link. They lingered there. "_Link._"

"You remember my name," he muttered. "That's a first."

"_Please speak up. This connection is very poor. I cannot hear you."_

Gortram noisily cleared his throat. "The lad was just saying it's a pleasure to serve you. Once again. In his case, that is."

"_Excellent._" She smiled. "_My loyal subjects, I have a request."_

"Anything, Your Highness."

"_Listen. For some time now, we have been tracking the Gerudo flagship the _Skystalker_. A slow and thankless task to be sure. There is a criminal on board that I need...neutralising._

_"Unfortunately, our records do not update instantaneously. As such, we've only just noticed that you have had a recent altercation with them._" She paused, her eyes curious. "_Is there any particular reason why?"_

Gortram was about to reply when Link swiftly cut in. "Not that we know of, Ma'am."

Princess Midna considered this for a moment. "_Strange. The Gerudo never attack so randomly."_

"Well," said Link. "They did this time."

Her eyes turned to him. There seemed to be a shadow behind them, something calculating. It made Link's skin crawl.

"_Are you still taking umbrage with me, soldier?"_

"Water under the bridge, Ma'am," he bit out. "Isn't that what you said to me?"

_"My, how typically arrogant._" Midna's crimson eyes flashed dangerously. _"All that matters is what you want, is it? Your ideals? So full of your own self-importance, I see. As usual, Link."_

He had to bite back a reply. Her slander was like nettle to his soul.

_"Let me inform you of the truth. All of you._

_"What I tell you now, Link, is what I told you then. You are not the only one who wishes to do what is right - do not flatter yourself thinking otherwise. I did what I believed was the only correct course of action open to me._

_"Thousands of lives would have been saved had the Artifact done what we thought it would do. What we expected it to do. What is one girl's life against that?"_

"Girl?" Saria whispered. "What girl?"

"Shush, sprog," Gortram replied under his breath. "I'll explain later."

_"Nevertheless" _the princess continued_, _a hint of a smile dancing on her lips, _"I have some information that may interest you, Link._" She turned away for a moment. "_Are you certain this is secure?_" Having clearly received another positive response, she then turned back to the crew. "_I take it that Link has informed you all about the Triforce?"_

Gortram nodded. "Only out of necessity, Your Majesty."

There was a pause and Link felt the muscles in his chest clench. _Mistake, boss. She's now wondering what possible situation would've led to that..._

The princess, though, didn't mention it. "_Very well. This is what __**we **__believe __**Dragmire**__ believes: You see, in the pommel of the Master Sword there rests unopened a device known only as the Eye of Equilibrium. Records about it are scarce. Millennia have passed, and I truly believe only a handful of people even knew it existed as part of the sword. I've had __**my **__best people study it - from a distance, of course - but it seems Dragmire himself divined what they simply could not."_

Another pause followed. Midna was watching Link with a careful, calculating gaze. He felt compelled to speak. "And that was...?"

_"Well,_" she replied, looking strangely pleased. "_As my former soldier is more than aware, Ganondorf Dragmire wears what he calls the Darkhide - a suit of armour fuelled purely by dark energy. It is impregnable. Indestructible. Not substance in Hyrule can even scratch it. Not even a Mark IV detonation device."_

Saria whistled in awe.

_"Yes, quite. But Dragmire - we know not how - learned about the Eye. Learned that the Master Sword has a unique power source which, once activated, would allow the blade to cut through even his metal skin."_

"The Eye of Equilibrium," Link said, his mind connecting the dots. "You open it. You power up the sword."

_"Exactly."_

Link continued to follow the trail. "But not just anyone can open it...?"

_"No. The Eye will only open at the touch of a person with the correct biometric match. Dragmire knew this. He searched far and wide for that very special person." _Scarlet eyes shimmered. "_And he found her."_

_"_She has a name, Ma'am."

Princess Midna held Link's gaze. The air suddenly became tense. Link's friends were beginning to look very uncomfortable. He felt his own jaw twitch.

Finally, the princess smiled. _"Quite right. Zelda, then. Zelda. Something to do with her bloodline, we know not exactly what. No historical data has survived about her family. Quite why the Master Sword is designed like this is beyond us, too._

_"In short, the Eye will open at her touch. The Master Sword will become empowered, and Dragmire will be finally open to a full-out assault." _The violent lust in her voice abated. "_This is why he took the gir- took Zelda._"

"But not the sword?" Link asked.

_"He knew that if he simply just took the Master Sword then I wouldn't rest until I had chased him down." _

"But you wouldn't bother if it was just her."

_"Precisely."_

Link resisted the urge to shake his head. _Unbelievable. No apologies. Not even a denial._

And Zelda...was all this true about her? Was she that important?

Another thought wormed its way into his mind. Why exactly was Midna them telling them all this? They were just a humble mining crew. She was building to something, he knew it. He knew it and his heart sank heavy with dread.

Captain Gortram sheepishly held up a hand. "Uh...Highness?"

Midna turned her regard onto the captain. "Speak."

Link bristled. _You could at least bother to learn his name, Ma'am._

"Not wanting to be presumptuous or anything," the Goron continued nervously. "But I was just wondering...based on what the lad's said...and what you've just told us. I was wondering why Ganondorf let you have a piece of the Triforce?"

"_Naturally you would when such _classified _information comes so readily into your circle of knowledge._" An angry glance Link's way emphasised her point. "_It is because Dragmire does not want this war to end. Not truly. This perpetual stalemate keeps him in power on his desert world. The Triforce wasn't his real worry. The only danger to himself was the girl Zelda. This he has now permanently rectified."_

Fear hooked onto Link's heart. "Permanently?" he said, dreading the answer. "What do you mean 'permanently'?"

Midna's cool gaze regarded Link for a long while. "_Our intel informs us that the girl named Zelda was tortured to death by the Aveil. Slowly tortured." _She closed her eyes for a moment. "_I am sorry, Link." _

Link felt his entire world fall away from beneath him. His heart felt as though it had been torpedoed, sinking fast like a crushingly heavy block of lead. He felt unsteady on his feet. A black hole opened in the pit of his soul and sucked down into it every ounce of warmth and joy he had ever felt. Burning pain remained, pain that pricked his eyes with tears.

_Make your actions beautiful? No chance. Not now. _He barely heard what was said next.

"What's an Aveil?" said Saria.

"**The **_ Aveil, child. Ganondorf's right-hand woman."_

Link grit his teeth. An image splashed across his mind's eye like fire eating fast through paper: the Aveil dragging a pleading Zelda away. Something detonated deep in his heart, something molten and agonisingly hot. It grew and grew and grew.

Someone spoke.

"Since she's now dead, how will you kill Dragmire?"

"_Child, I never said I truly believed in any of this. Nonetheless, I am hoping that if we can find the other piece of the Triforce - the Triforce of Courage - we'll be able to use the two pieces in some way, to conduct the energy we need somehow. I think Dragmire may have realised this. I'd wager he now regrets giving me the Triforce of Power so easily. He's now searching for the last piece, we believe. Searching for the Triforce of Courage."_

Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw the captain trying to surreptitiously catch his attention. Link didn't bite. He was too busy trying to stem the rising tide he felt within.

"_You, of course, wouldn't happen to know anything about such a thing, would you?_"

"No," said Gortram quickly.

"Nope," Saria added.

"Negative," said Navi.

If Link felt any joy at the show of solidarity he definitely didn't show it.

_"Then, my dear subjects, I must leave you now._" She was watching Link still, evidently noticing that he hadn't joined in with the denials. _"I truly apologise for impinging on your time like this. I felt, since you'd been given such undue attention from a Gerudo flagship, that I should present myself personally to you. I care about you all so very deeply."_

"We are... truly honoured," the captain replied. He didn't sound too convinced.

_"As ever, we will keep track of the _Skystalker. _I am updating your fairy's data. Should you need to contact me, she will know how." _

Sweetness coated her voice. "_Oh, and one last thing. A little nugget of information, shall we say._

_"The Aveil. She is aboard the _Skystalker. _I just thought you ought to know." _She flashed them a wicked smile._ "Midna out._"

The image vanished. Link instantly drew his sword and sent it crackling into the ground, steel tip first. Clods of earth sizzled into dust. He knelt, hands wrapped around the hilt, and closed his eyes. The dam had burst inside.

A meaty hand came to rest on his shoulder "She's goading you, lad. Can't you see that?"

Link blinked, his lashes wet. "I don't know what you mean. I really, really don't."

"Think about it," the captain explained. "Why else would she give us all that intel?"

"Why?"

"To get you to do what she wants, lad. Focus!"

"And what would that be?"

"Rush in like a bull if we ever run into the Aveil again. Princess thinks you'll want to kill her."

"Bit disrespectful for you, isn't it, sir?"

"There's respect," the captain sighed. "And there's the truth. I've been around long enough to see what's what. She wants you to kill the Aveil. She thinks that's what _you _want."

"That so?" Link spat. "She'd be right there, then."

"Be reasonable, lad. Your head's not on straight."

"Link," said Saria softly. She placed her hand gently on his sleeve. "This isn't like you. You're scaring me a bit. Please listen."

He opened his mouth to fire an angry retort, but a skewered trail of light cut in between them all.

It was Navi.

"We've got company," she said. "_Proximity Alert!"_

Gortram's cheek twitched. "How convenient."

A grim humourless smile stretched over Link's lips. "It's them. They've found us."

The captain didn't need to ask. "Saria, to the ship! Navi, get that anchor up!"

A blue spiral tore the sky apart. Birds sprung from nearby trees, squawking in one terrified voice. Waves of distortion rippled through the air.

Link slowly stood as the _Skystalker _came through the warp gate. He gripped the hilt of his sword.

"Come on," he whispered. "Let's have you, then."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Death approached in the gargantuan shape of the Gerudo battlecruiser known only as the _Skystalker. _Designed and christened by Ganondorf Dragmire himself, the _Skystalker_ took centre stage in the warlord's fleet, one of three flagships that led the Grand Gerudo Navy.

No one had ever escaped her grasp before. No one, that is, until her encounter with the mining ship _The Righteous Maximus. _That had been a fluke, restrained as she had been by her crew's desire to not damage the pathetic little Cloud Clipper.

The crew were united in their purpose now, though: The _Maximus _had escaped once. She wouldn't be doing so again.

_The Righteous Maximus _veered sharply to starboard as a cannonball blazing with dark violet energy tore past on her left. A fiery indigo trail hung in the air before slowly fading to black smoke.

Another cannon detonated with a soft _whoomph. _Navi had the _Maximus _dip suddenly to escape the oncoming missile, her crew yelling as their stomachs shot violently to their throats. Vicious calls and cries rode the wind from behind, a sign that the _Skystalker _was still hard on their stern.

Captain Gortram stood imperiously on his ship's foredeck, his hair and beard ravaged by the howling wind. "I. Did. Not. Sign. Up. For. _This!_" he cried. "Navi! Give us some more speed, lass!"

The fairy's wings were beating so fast that they were nothing more than a glistening liquid blur. "I am _trying_!"

Link and Saria stood by the side railings, watching the drunken sway of the chasing _Skystalker. _Link gripped the brass hard, his knuckles blanched bone white, oblivious to everything but the pursuing ship. He couldn't tear his eyes away.

Somewhere aboard was the Aveil. Link's heart smouldered. Images mocked him in his mind. The thought of Zelda screaming, crying in pain, confused and helpless, the thought of her body slumping into death, the light from her eyes fading. Alone. Lost.

Betrayed.

Link's face wore a mask of grim determination.

He would face the Aveil.

He had to.

The captain's voice cut through the poisonous haze of Link's thoughts.

"Fight back!" he spat. "We've finally got a cannon, so use it! Fire! _Fiiiiiire!_"

Navi gave a short, sharp nod. "Acknowledged."

Gears and pulleys rattled and whined as the solitary cannon extended from the ship's port side, then turned to aim aft.

The ship recoiled, sending all the wingless aboard stumbling, as the squat weapon fired. The _Skystalker's _crew, however, were equal to it. They returned fire instantly, a fiery projectile spitting forth from their ship's forward cannon. The two missiles careened into the each other with an electric boom of thunder, the resultant explosion hurling concentric circles of glowing energy out in every direction.

"Down!" cried Link.

The _Maximus's _crew ducked just as a spray of burning shrapnel flew their way, skittering across the deck and leaving black scorch marks in its wake.

Saria grasped the railing and pulled herself back up. Her ears pricked up at the faint new sound drifting her way. "They're laughing," she moaned, teeth chittering. "They're laughing at us."

Link and the captain exchanged a glance. They wouldn't dare say it out loud, but they shared the same thought: The end was near.

"Look," Saria gasped, pointing.

Glad for the distraction, Link gazed over the ship's side. Gouts of steam had begun pouring from the _Maximus's _ twin engines, the turbines burning white hot. Link let out a breath through clenched teeth. He couldn't die yet. Not until he'd sated the thirst of his aching heart.

He swivelled around to address Navi, but the fairy was already a step ahead:

"Warp gate imminent!" she called. "It's gonna be a weird one - it's all I had time for. Hold on!"

Link threw one last glance back at the _Skystalker, _torn between his lust for revenge and concern for his friends. Blue tendrils of light ran all over the ship as the now-familiar spiral opened up in the heavens beyond. Link's eyes remained locked on the Gerudo, unblinking, until the azure light took the sight of the chasing battleship away. The warp gate swallowed them whole, then spit them out into a vast starlit sky.

"Out the way, you great lug!"

_The Righteous Maximus_ immediately shifted hard to port, her crew sliding unceremoniously across the deck. She narrowly dodged a propeller-driven passenger boat, its fairy pilot's curses still ringing in the air.

Link massaged his aching temples. His vision spun. "_Now _what?"

A huge horn blasted their ears. The _Maximus_ dived suddenly in response, swooping under the waddling hulk of a fat cargo cruiser. Link, ignoring the splitting throb from his head , took a quick gander over the edge of the ship's railing.

For a moment all his disorientated eyes saw were tiny winking lights, as though the whole land of Hyrule itself had been decked out with crass Feastival decorations. He blinked, then everything came quickly into focus.

A series of parallel lines, marked by sharply lit navigation lights, criss-crossed the black sky in each and every direction. The noise of a myriad different engines hung permanently in the air like the never-ending drone of a hive of bees. They were traffic lanes, clogged to the brim with all manner of ships.

Tall buildings, all glass, steel and concrete, glistened with their own patterns of light as they jutted out from the ground below. Each building curved upward, slowly getting slimmer the higher they went, until they reached a winking light perched at the very top.

In the centre all this sprawl, bathed in a faint jade light, stood a vast fortress with towers that dwarfed every other building all around as they reached up to kiss the sky.

It was Captain Gortram who spoke the words they were all thinking. "You've brought us to Castle City?" he said, shocked. "To the Capital? Right over the Emerald Palace?"

Navi had no chance to reply. A flash of blue, a roar of overworked engines, and all aboard knew that the _Skystalker _had somehow followed them through. Shocked screams rang out from the vessels passing by as they swerved out of the battleship's path. Flames erupted in the air as ships careened into each other in a desperate bid to escape. Angry scarlet sirens burst into life from below - the city's security patrol boats rising up to intercept.

"Emergency warp," said Navi, calm as ever.

Castle City disappeared in a drizzle of electric blue.

Link, eyes scrunched shut, was trying desperately not to heave. Warping wildly like this was causing him one killer of a headache. He slowly opened one eye, then the other.

A thick bank of fog met his dizzied vision, spread out in all directions. There was literally nothing else to see but that never-ending vapour. It glowed as well, a faint blush of ethereal pink. Threads of shimmering silver weaved a silky pattern through the dense haze.

_Clouds of silver lining,_ Link thought idly. _Quaint._

A cobalt flash briefly bruised the fog somewhere nearby.

"They're here, too," whispered Saria.

As if to punctuate the point, a cannonball spitting dark energy went rippling harmlessly overhead.

"They can't see us," said Navi. "At least not yet. This fog will scramble their fairy's vision just as it's doing to mine. Sweet."

"Navi," the captain said patiently. "Status report."

"Well," she replied. "It looks like they've got a warp lock on us. Wherever we go, they follow. That's how they bypassed Castle City's security. No way would a Gerudo ship have gotten through otherwise." She narrowed her eyes. "The little scamps."

"So what do we do?"

"Simple," she replied, cheery once more. "Give me a moment, and I can push through three warp gates one after another. That'll overload both ships' engines causing a warp freeze. That could last anything between a few seconds to an hour. What it will do is disable both ships - no engines, no cannons. Once the freeze breaks, the lock will break, and we'll be free to go. It may take me a few moments to get a new gate up, though. We'll be vulnerable in that short window."

"Do it."

As Gortram leaned in close to discuss things further with the little fairy, Link turned away and scanned the sky. He'd heard more than enough.

Another cannonball rolled silently across the sky, far wide of its target. Clearly the Gerudo no longer cared about the risk to his Triforce piece - they wanted to disable the _Maximus _as quickly as possible. Link's eyes searched for the _Skystalker's _silhouette. They could be anywhere, could sneak up on them with the crew - with maybe even both crews - totally unaware.

All he saw was glowing pink fog occasionally veined with jagged blue forks of silent lightning.

"I don't like that look," Saria murmured.

Link barely paid any attention. "What look?"

"The look on your face," she replied. "What are you thinking, hmm?"

"Nothing." He breathed in the icy chill of the surrounding mist. "It's nothing."

Saria allowed a few seconds of silence to lapse before adding, "I said you didn't look like the type who kills, yeah? Well, I don't think you're the doctor who takes revenge, either."

Link winced inwardly. Was he that easy to read?

He turned to her at last. "What do you suggest, then?"

"I don't know, Link. I really don't. But I don't think you want to be the princess's lapdog now, do you? Hey?"

Link shrugged. "So we share the same goals for the time being. So what?"

Saria sighed. "You know, it could get a tad bit annoying, I admit, but that whole principles thing you had going was really endearing in a way. Cute. Admirable, even. At least it is where I come from."

Link blinked. "Where _do _you come from?"

She ignored the question. "And now you're going to just throw it all away."

"Too bad."

"She meant that much to you, hey?"

"I guess she did."

Link turned away. He still could feel Saria's gaze upon him, questioning with her eyes, but he didn't bother to respond. After a few more moments, she turned away, too.

Then gasped.

"Hey," she whispered. "You see that?" She pointed. Her voice grew louder. "What's that? What. Is. That?"

Link peered into the rose-tinted smog. Wispy cloud gazed back at him. He frowned. "What do you see? I can't -"

He _could._ A dark serpentine shadow flitted through the fog.

Link tensed. "That's not the _Skystalker..."_

He whirled away from the railings. "Captain -

The _Maximus_ rocked, ever-so-slightly. Gortram's head snapped up at the motion. "What in the blue blazes...?"

"It appears," said Navi, who was taking just this precise moment to begin buffing her nails, "that something just nudged us. Something bid, I'd say."

"Captain. Navi," said Link. "We need to go. Now."

"What's going on, lad?"

Another blow came, sending them all stumbling. A shriek like the cry of an immense bird tore through the air.

_"_We _really_ need to go."

"I've got it!" cried Navi, fist clenched. "Warping!" She began to cackle. "This is going to hurt. Hurt bad! Haha!"

The first warp took them to the Goron Mining Facility, an immense structure of steel girders and huge rivets built impossibly over triple lakes of smoking magma and bubbling molten lava housed in the volcano known as Fire Mountain. Metal pounding metal was the constant chant, and a plume of ship-sized sparks was the Goron workers only other sight, a never-ending fountain of flame.

The second warp brought them hovering over an achingly beautiful field of immense trees made entirely of ice, ruby red leaves hanging from branches a pale ghostly blue. A bitter wind swirled with snow funnelled its way around the ship. They warped away from the place known as Snowpeak and found themselves floating against a stark white background that encompassed each and every direction.

Navi spoke.

"Warp freeze enabled."

It took a while for the crew of the _Maximus _to recover their bearings. Link waited with eyes closed, trying to will the numbing spikes of pain away. Scarlet spots scratched dancing patterns against his eyelids, throbbing in time with each ache of his head. Good thing they'd eaten so lightly or else there would have been some extreme hurling going on right now.

_Was that even real food...? It was back in Haven, after all..._

His eyes opened.

The two ships hung in the air, locked unmoving in a single moment of time, engines and weapons both silent. A blank canvass of pure white nothing framed the two vessels. Both crews still had motion, but no way of reaching the other.

_Well, _thought Link. _Not entirely._

Link spotted two things instantly: the first was that the Aveil was nowhere to be found on the Gerudo ship's deck. The second was that the port holes dotted around the _Skystalker's _hull were large - large enough for a medium-sized person to slip through.

_Assess the situation. Find the appropriate conclusion._

He glanced over to his friends. The captain was deep in discussion with Navi again, and Saria was already trotting over to them.

Link reached a decision.

_I'm sorry. I'm sorry I dragged you all into this._

He clamped the hookshot bracelet shut around his right wrist, clambered onto the ship's railing, then aimed. The spike caught on the _Skystalker's_ wooden hull and, with a squeeze of his palm, Link flew across, yanked haphazardly across the gap. He crashed inelegantly against the ship's side, right beside a port hole. He hung there for a moment, waiting for his bearings to realign, for the sharp pain to subside.

Then Link grasped the gold-gilded rim of the large hole, and disengaged the hookshot. His free hand formed a fist that cracked against the port hole's glass. A spider-web of paper-thin cracks sprouted all over the surface, then, with a second punch, the glass shattered.

Link scrambled through the port-hole, fell to the ground in an awkward tumble, and stood up.

A large fist cracked him straight in the face. Reeling, Link stumbled back as another blow, this time to the stomach, knocked all the wind out of him. Spasms of pain wracked his midriff. Link threw up both palms, begging off. His attacker paused for a fraction of a second.

It was all the time Link needed.

His right fist snapped shut into a fist that ploughed into the Gerudo's jaw. He followed through with a series of peppering jabs - left, right, left, left. The Gerudo rocked on his heels, stunned. Link drew back his right arm, then swung in with a haymaker.

_Missed!_

The Gerudo caught Link with a knee to the midsection that doubled him over. Twin elbows cracked down on the back of Link's neck, driving him to his knees. Stars exploded in Link's line of sight.

Link squeezed his eyes shut, then forced them open. The air changed. His skin prickled.

Link arced his back and threw up his arms in a cross just as the swinging kick came. The man's boot snapped to a halt in the X of Link's arms. Still holding his opponent's leg so, Link pushed himself up off his knees to a standing position, then swept the Gerudo's other leg from out under him. Three jabbing elbows cracked against the side of the man's head, and he slipped easily into an unconscious oblivion.

Link slumped against a side wall, bruised flesh throbbing, and surveyed his surroundings.

A greasy stove hummed with dark energy. On a nearby bench a crimson-stained cleaver lay part-way through a large leg of meat. Link glanced down at his fallen opponent. The burly Gerudo was draped in a dirty apron.

_The cook. Ambushed by the cook. Embarrassing._

Link took a few more moments to breathe deeply. He had to focus. Had to let all those old academy skills flow right back in. He stumbled onward.

The kitchen door stood slightly ajar. Link approached it, then nudged it open with the toe of his boot. A passageway waited outside. Link snuck his head out, then quickly back in.

Coast clear.

He peered out again. To his left, the corridor ended in a ladder that no doubt led to the upper deck. The sound of boots thumped overhead. He guessed there were further quarters to the right. The Aveil's in particular. There wasn't much space here. Escape would be impossible. Good thing he wasn't planning to.

Link drew his sword, then crept along the passageway, his back pressed flat against the wall. His sword hummed with energy, spitting electric sparks the colour of gold at any sudden movement. Every so often Link would snap his head left, then right, checking for Gerudo. No one came.

Doors passed on either side. None were marked. None seemed remarkable in the least. Anxiety gnawed at him. What if one of those belonged to the Aveil? Link was expecting something more elaborate, sure, but he couldn't really be certain.

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

Link froze. Eyes wide, he glanced down at the clam-com vibrating against his belt. With a frustrated hiss, he slept his palm against it, silencing it instantly.

It was only Gortram. It had to be.

_They've noticed I've gone, then. They better not do anything stupid._

Another thought chased the first: _What, like you?_

Link shook the notion clear from his mind. He approached a bend. Rough voices floated from beyond. With a quick lick of his dry lips, Link edged out to see.

A trio of Gerudo stood in front of a pair of ornately carved double doors. The Aveil's chambers. It had to be. He looked back at the guards.

_Three at once. Keep one in close so the other two don't wade in. _

Link readied himself, muscles tense. He rushed in, leapt, and landed in the middle of the three. They whirled into attack, weapons at the ready: one with a rapier, the next a scythe, and the last wielding twin blades. The blur of motion that followed barely lasted a handful of seconds:

One man instantly glided in with a rapier thrust that Link quickly dodged. He blocked the man's outstretched sword arm with his own, then used his free elbow to knock him clean out. A scythe attacked followed. Link arced his back, and the steel sliced thin air. Springing back upright, Link slashed with his sword. The stench of burnt energy mixed with the Gerudo's gargled scream.

Twin swords jabbed for Link's head. He threw up his sword arm, blocking the attack. Link twirled away, swords disengaging with a steel slither, then dropped, palms and sword pressed flat against the ground, and swept the man's legs with his own. Link pounced quickly, a pair of sharp jabs to the neck quickly ending the battle. He sprung back to his feet, frozen for a moment in a fighting stance, sword at the ready in front of him, his free hand trailing behind, palm flat and stiff.

Link slowly relaxed, his breathing ragged, his muscles aflame. It surprised him just how easily it had all come back to him.

_Good. Excellent. Now for the main course._

The doors to the Aveil's chamber stood in front of him. Link swallowed, sword gripped hard. His heart still burned and only justice would satiate it. An odd feeling, this. Link knew he'd be dead at the end of all this, knew with an iron-clad certainty that would've shocked any other person to the core.

A traitorous thought whispered: _Was your life really that empty that you'd throw it away so, so easily?_

Link ignored it all. Hate stoked the fire that propelled him on now.

He placed his free palm against one door and pushed. It surprised him to see it give so easily.

_Unlocked._

Link stepped into the dimly lit room, his eyes darting. Every beat of his heart boomed in his ears as he slowly stepped onward. There was a bed, a table, a single port hole at the far wall, and little else bar the few lamps spilling faint red light. Black and crimson silhouettes stretched over every inch of the room. His nose twitched from the heavy scent of incense.

Link heard the faintest of creaks.

The door slammed shut behind him.

He spun around. The Aveil stood there, steel mask impassive as ever, liquid-black dark energy running down the edge of her sword. Haughty, untouchable, not a care in the world.

Rage exploded deep within the young man. Bellowing, Link ran forward, sword swinging, then dived in for the attack. She lazily swatted him aside, barely flicking her wrist as her blade blocked with consummate ease.

Hate fuelled Link's every strike. He threw a fist at her face; she snapped her neck away instantly. He sent his sword swinging in a tight arc; she ducked it, then dodged the follow-up punch by twirling away.

Link whirled around, sword still spinning, then jabbed in with an attack aimed at the Aveil's left flank. She dodged again, caught his arm mid-thrust, then lifted him slowly into the air. Her polished metal mask regarded him with its unreadable expression as he dangled there struggling, then threw him across the room. His ankle caught painfully on the table, spinning him completely around mid-flight, before he crashed into the wall and slid to the ground. Head spinning, chest heaving, Link looked up and got his first good look at his reviled foe.

She was slender, and barely as tall as he. Whatever strength she had seemed to be coming from her metal armour. Link idly wondered if it was of the same material as Dragmire's Darkhide. Would he need the powered-up Master Sword to pierce it?

_Let's find out._

Link ran, back arcing, then fell into a slide, aiming to take the Aveil out from under her -

She brought up a boot and brought it down onto Link's chest at the last minute, stopping him cold. She reached down, her gloved fingers wrapping around his shirt, then pulled him up into the air. She spoke then, her voice cold, distorted and metallic:

"What is it you are wanting on my ship? Why are you being here? _Where_ is the last Triforce piece?"

Shock hit Link straight in the gut.

_No. No way._

As warped as it was, Link would recognise that voice anywhere.

"Zelda...?"

The Aveil froze. "What? What is this you are saying?"

"It's you." His eyes feverishly searched the smooth metal face. "It _is _you."

"I am not knowing what you mean." Her grip tightened. "You are toying with me."

"It's me, Zelda. It's Link!"

She took a step backward. "That...name. Those names..."

Her fingers sprung open. Link slumped to the floor, then quickly rolled away. He rose slowly to his feet, astonished eyes wide. He remembered Zelda's smile, her bright blue eyes, her gentle laugh. All his fury drained out of him in an instant.

"What have they done to you?" he whispered. Despair and hope waged a desperate battle in his aching heart. "What have they _done_?"

The Aveil was stumbling now, her steel mask gripped in her hands. "No...I can't...what is happening to me?"

Link took his chance. He wiped the sweat away from his brow with his sleeve, then held out his hand. It trembled.

"Zelda," he said, voice soft. "Please. Come with me. _Please. _We can figure this out. Come with me. Come _back._"

"Be going with you, _where?_"

"_Any_where."

"Why?"

As Link's mind searched for an answer, his heart drove straight to the point. "Because...because I love you."

The Aveil froze again. Link waited, his ears pricking to the sound of pounding boots - reinforcements were coming. His eyes darted from the woman to the door, then back again. He'd be overwhelmed, he knew he would. Despair had shut out any thoughts of escape before. But now...

In the split second that he'd hesitated, the Aveil had managed to pick up her sword.

"No..." she whispered. Black energy plumed around the blade's steel edge. "No!"

Link spun away, coiling all his muscles, then leapt, smashing through the room's single port hole and out into the air. He hung over the vast white nothingness, surrounded by pure and utter silence. Sparkling glass splinters spiralled away in every direction. Those that caught on his clothes sliced through and drew blood.

Link grit his teeth. He threw up his right arm and squeezed the hookshot trigger. The spike reached the _Maximus_, bending his flight path askew. He bounced hard against the ship's hull, rolled as he hung by the hookshot's thin chain, then gently bobbed slowly to a halt.

Link looked up, ignoring the fresh bruises now racking his already battered body. The _Maximus's _brass railings gazed down at him invitingly. Link hit the trigger.

...

The Gerudo stood to attention as the Aveil marched onto the deck, metal boots ringing against wood.

Her lieutenant saluted. "Mistress," he said. He threw a brief glance over at the mining ship. "The warp freeze is undone. Shall we fire? We have them."

The Aveil held up her hand. The air grew palpably tense. The lieutenant smirked. He knew, like she did, that all she had to do was close her hand into a fist to give the order.

She waited, her metallic mask faced straight at the fast receding _Maximus._

The men were getting edgy. "Mistress?" the lieutenant prodded." They are getting away."

Still she waited, hand raised, metal face blank, unspeaking. The battleship's engines hummed in the silence.

"Mistress._"_

The Aveil's hand twitched.

"Mistress!"

Her fingers began to tremble and slowly curl.

_"Mistress!"_

Slowly, ever-so-slowly, the Aveil let her hand drop until it hung limply at her side.

...

"We're not gonna make it," the captain said, throwing nervous glances back at the _Skystalker_. He spat. "They'll fire."

"They won't," said Link, his voice hushed. "She won't."

"How'd you know that, lad?" Gortram growled. "And you still haven't told me what you were doing over there."

"Yeah, well," Link mumbled. "Sorry for not answering your call and filling you in."

The Goron's brow furrowed. "What call?" He waved the question away. "And what do you mean by 'she'? _She _won't fire? Who's 'she'?"

The sound of throbbing engines filled the air. "Can you two leave it for later, yeah?" Saria squeaked, her face stretched in fear. "They're starting to gain on us."

Link was still mute from the captain's revelation. Who, if not Gortram, had called him on the com...?

The Goron pushed his face into Link's so closely that the fear shone apparent in his liquid-black eyes."Who. Is. _She?"_

Link swallowed. "The Aveil," he replied. "Zelda is the Aveil."

"What? _What?_"

The engines pitched to a shriek now. The wind began to flick the ship this way and that.

"How," the captain went on, "can that be?"

"I don't know!" Link cried, pushing away from the Goron. "I just don't know. Maybe it's the mask. Maybe, I don't know, maybe the Aveil is just the mask, and there's been lots of women who've worn it."

"And now it's your little friend Zelda? Seriously?"

Link nodded. "Yes. Now it's Zelda." His eyes stung. His voice dropped. Realisation slammed into his heart like a steel anchor into the earth.

"It's my fault," he breathed. "It's all my fault."

"_Please," _Saria moaned. "Can we just stop talking and start getting the blazes _out_?"

Link looked back at the _Skystalker. _"She won't fire."

"How do you know?"

"She won't."

"I've got it!" cried Navi. "Warping - NOW!"

Sparkling blue light spilled out over the ship. Link let steely resolution flow into his voice. "I'll get her back," he whispered. "I'm going to win her back."

...

As _The Righteous Maximus _disappeared into the azure void, a prickly silence fell over the deck of the _Skystalker._

It was the ship's resident fairy who dared break it. "We cannot follow," she chirped. "Our warp lock has been shattered. Their fairy must be of a calibre and class superior to my own."

The Gerudo lieutenant rounded on the Aveil with a scowl. "_He _will be hearing of his this." Flecks of his spit sprayed the side of her mask. "I assure you."

The Aveil snapped her head around to face him, paused, then turned on her heel and left the deck. She heard the lieutenant bark out commands as she slid down the ladder. She paused briefly at the bottom, her forehead resting against the wooden rungs, then stalked over to her quarters. The doors closed softly behind her with a click. She turned the key in its lock.

The Aveil stood for a moment. With her flattened palm, she smoothed out her bed. She sat. Reaching under, she rummaged around until her hand grasped something cold and hard. She pulled out a mirror.

The Aveil's fingers danced on her metal mask. The steel responded to her coded touch, splitting open in a descending series of rectangular metal blocks with a hiss. She gazed down at the ornament. Electric blue eyes and shorn blonde hair stared back.

There was something else there, too. Something different. Something wrong.

The Aveil slowly lifted her hand to her face.

When she brought it away, she frowned.

Tears glistened at the very tips of her fingers.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

It was the kind of hot, muggy night that Byrne both loved and hated. Not because of the climate, no, but because of the occasion.

Boots perched upon his desk, fingers knitted behind his head, the Head of Security for Castle City's Emerald Palace fixed his eyes firmly on the flickering pictovid screen before him, his face bathed in its pale glow. Once or twice, reacting to something on screen, he'd bark with laughter, caught up in the show. He was trying his level best to enjoy himself.

This wasn't how he'd typically entertain himself, no. He left the pictovids with their melodrama, mindless violence and empty-headed romantic fantasies to the brain-addled and the thick. Unfortunately, his useless wretch of daughter fell under exactly both those descriptions. And it probably included most of the men and women he commanded, too. Fine soldiers, yes. But just so very easily amused...

He instead preferred a diversion that was much more hands on, so to speak.

So, yeah, this is why Byrne loved nights like this: it gave him a chance to kick up his feet and wind down a bit. Why? Because everyone was out celebrating - he could even hear the cheers and whoops seeping in through the palace's thick walls. He presumed that Clarissa, his incomprehensible adolescent daughter, was out there, too, chatting mindlessly with her friends as they huddled in a pack, snarking in hushed giggling whispers at any other girl whose hair and clothes they didn't approve of

Sometimes he wondered just what she said about him when he wasn't around.

The party was out there, and most of the palace's meagre residents were out there with it, while a skeleton crew, headed by himself naturally, had stayed behind. The Emerald Palace's current occupants: his crew, the new prisoners, and Princess Midna herself.

And that's precisely why he hated these nights, too. They were too small, too vulnerable.

He tried to soothe those fears. The palace was hardly what you'd call bustling at the best of times, so did it matter how few they were? And, besides, who would really attack anyway, eh? Not the Gerudo, that's for certain. They'd be vaporised if they even breathed an inch from the city's outermost airspace. Not the people of the city, either - every single one of them loved and adored Her Ever-Royal Majesty, as was good and proper.

That gave him pause. Byrne glanced over at the cell he was guarding. His personal responsibility.

_Okay, so not __**every**__ single one loved the princess._

So, besides all those locked up safe and snug right here, who would dare attack the palace?

No-one, that's who, and yet Byrne still couldn't shake off how much he loathed these nights that She of the Beauteous Gaze ordered every so often. What did young Seb call them? A party for the sake of partying?

And one that the princess herself never took part in.

_Like Seb knows anything about parties, anyway. The day he's invited to one is the day I'd have to hit retirement. Out of pure shock. _

A shrill voice ringing out from the nearby cell intruded in on Byrne's thoughts.

"You! You there!"

The fact that this wasn't the usual way anyone would try and catch his attention was enough to give him pause and prick his curiosity. He swung his legs down off the table, stood up, and pulled his shirt straight.

_Guess it won't just be the vids entertaining me tonight._

He was in a small alcove, walls and floor gleaming with green steel polished so brightly that it seemed to throb with its own inner light. To his left was the only exit, guarded now by two of his men. In front was a single door, thick and squat, all solid metal bar for a small rectangular opening marked by a series of horizontal steel grilles. It was to this that Byrne walked up to now.

"What do you want?"

"I wish to protest." It was a woman's voice, high and nasal. They were _all _women in there.

"About...?"

She gestured at her cell. "Just look at it."

He did. "And?"

Frustration curled her lip. "There's no mattress, no bedding. Not even a chair for me to sit and write, if you louts would actually give me a pen and paper to write with, that is. _And _I only receive two meals a day."

"Just two, huh? Shocking."

The woman nodded, clearly relieved to find what she thought was a sympathetic ear. "I would like my _own_ accommodation, thank you." She let her voice drop to a whisper. "Here, I have to share with these others, converse with - with - with -"

"Yeah?"

"They only own three properties and a strip of land between them. Do you see?" She paused, allowing the grave import of her words to really sink in. The ever-present hum of light energy filled the gap. "They are of a..._lower station. _Unacceptable."

"My heart bleeds for you."

"Excellent," she replied, completely mis-reading him. "Look. Just take another look. You'll be aghast."

He took a peek inside the cell: sparse, well-lit, warm. Cosy enough.

The prisoners were his responsibility, certainly. To the point that the princess had insisted that, should anything happen in the palace, he was to make sure that he got the prisoners out to another safehouse first before even checking in on her. Byrne didn't like the sound of that, but orders were orders.

He took another look inside. Yeah, there were a couple of other women in there, but they were doing their level best to not attract any attention. He was getting a bit miffed with all this. It took all his self-control to keep his fist from curling. Now _that _would be fun. Maybe later. It'd be nice to let off some steam. Something at the pit of his gut tingled at the prospect.

Byrne turned back to the complainant, face sour.

"Do not look at me like that," she snapped. "I am a noble."

"So?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Do you think that even matters here? Do you even know why you are here?"

He jammed the key roughly into the lock, then snapped it open. Hope blossomed in the woman's eyes. Byrne almost laughed.

He allowed the door to swing wide enough for him to step in and give the annoying tart a sharp shove. She fell ungainly to the ground with a squeak.

"You touched me," she cried, glaring up at him. "How dare you touch me!"

"I'll do more than that next time, sweetheart." He patted the sword hanging from his belt. "I'll cut you."

Seeing the terror sink in on her face finally did send him off. He threw back his head to let fly with a peal of laughter. A buzz from his com cut him off. Wiping tears away from his eyes, he reached up to press his lapel.

"Byrne here."

A nervy, young voice replied. "Come up here will you, guv?"

"What is it, Seb?" Irritation bit through his words. "What you got?"

"Trespasser."

"So take care of it."

"I really think you should come up here. Please."

A frustrated sigh flitted through his lips. "On my way."

He stalked off, locking the cell behind him and pausing only to nod at the two guards stationed at the main door. They were slouching. He hated that. They got so little action here at the palace that the edge had been taken off of them.

"Shape up," he warned, glaring. "I don't need to tell you guys twice. If even a hair floats across this floor, I want you to contact me. No excuses. Understood?"

"Sir!" they said in unison, saluting.

He let the door slam shut behind him, then strode through chandeliered walkways paved with reinforced, transparent glass. Each step he took lit up a green flame under the crystal floor that burned bright for an instant before fading back into a dull smoulder. He turned right past the stairs that led to the Throne Room, then through a series of grand chambers lit with the palace's ever-present green light, then turned left and finally right.

Byrne found Seb outside one of the palace's interrogation rooms. His eyes were closed and his head was bopping up and down. Byrne scowled at the sight.

To imagine that he, who had once ruled the roost in the sparring ring back at the Academy, would be reduced to having such dross under his command. The Head of Security slapped the boy on his shoulder, then pulled the com-buds forcefully out from his ears. Music spilled out into the air.

"Shut that thing off," Byrne growled. "And never let me see you with those things jammed in your ears whenever you're on duty. You look like a complete fool."

"Yes, guv," Seb gulped. He flicked at the buds. The music vanished. "Sorry, guv."

"Go on," said Byrne. "Where'd you find him, then?"

"In the palace gardens, guv. Was loitering."

"You got me up here just for that?" His mood was starting to curdle. He would _definitely _have to hit something tonight. "You know better, Seb. Just shoo them off. Probably someone got a little too frisky at the big do and made a wrong turn."

"This one's different, guv. He doesn't look frisky. And he won't answer any of our questions."

"Not one?"

"Well." Seb scratched his chin. There was something tense in his whole posture. "Said his name was Link. Din't say nowt more."

Unease, cold and clammy, touched the Head of Security's heart. There was something else. He could tell. "Out with it, Seb."

Seb blinked. "Guv?"

"Don't waste my time."

"Right. Sorry, guv. It's just...you know how sometimes I just get that feeling? Like when I just _knew_ Bryn's pet rat had died, even before anyone ever saw it dead?"

"I vaguely recall, yeah."

Seb grinned, pleased. "It's like that. I just feel something's...not right."

"That's why you called me up here? Because of the way you felt?"

"Yes, guv."

Byrne held his man's gaze, forcing himself not to sigh. "Understood." Fine fighting men and women his cadre sometimes were, but damn did they let their heads fill easy with superstition and hot air. And in this day and age, too. He gave Seb a short nod. "Let me at him, then."

The prisoner was young, slim, and sat with eyes downcast and hands resting neatly palms down on the smooth, polished glass table. Energy-powered lanterns cast half-moons of light across his face. Byrne studied him a moment longer. Not from the city by the looks of things. Clothes black with hints of green, long coat a deeper shade of that same green. Byrne could guess what this boy's favourite colour was. At least it matched the palace's decor.

As he took his seat opposite the boy, Byrne glanced at his two guards flanking either side of the table. "Weapons?"

"Unarmed."

"We got a fairy free to record this?"

"Only the usual ones outside. The others are all out -"

"Never mind." Byrne's gaze dropped back to the young man. "So." He cleared his throat. "Link, is it?"

No answer.

"Suit yourself." His chair creaked as he leaned forward. "Mind telling us what you were doing breaching the palace's perimeter? Folks here know very well there's no trespassing on royal grounds."

_Folks here, maybe,_ the Head of Security mused. _But he ain't from here, is he? _His earlier unease began to chafe him within.

Flint entered his voice. "You going to speak, son?"

Link said nothing, didn't even meet his gaze.

The flint kindled. "Who _are _you, boy? Why are you here? Speak, damn you. Who sent you?"

"A voice."

Byrne blinked, startled by the boy's response. Out of the corner of his eye, he spied one of his guards shifting uneasily.

"Voice?"

Link's eyes lifted, meeting the Byrne's own with a cool blue gaze. "A voice in my head."

Now the other guard fidgeted, ever so slightly. The Head of Security grit his teeth. He'd have to beat the superstition out of some these lads.

"The truth is all I'm asking, son. Is that too much?"

"Truth?" The young man's voice was soft. Not feminine, no. He just seemed like the type that didn't need to make a whole lot of noise. "The truth is someone's about to pay Princess Midna a little visit."

Byrne tensed. "What do you mean? What do you know?"

"Not enough. At least, not yet, hey?"

"Straight answers, boy," Byrne bellowed. "Why were you loitering outside the palace?

"I was looking for a way in."

Byrne snorted. "A way in? Son, this is the most heavily fortified building in the whole of Hyrule." He punctuated each point by jabbing a finger down on the table's crystalline top. "We've got stealth fairies recording every angle of the palace's outer perimeter at every moment. We've got the arsenal, where we're up to our eyeballs in the latest weapons tech. I've got my best men - handpicked them myself - who are top of their fields in both swordsmanship and martial arts; I've got those very men sweeping the grounds at every quarter hour. Bet it was one of them who picked you up, right?"

When he didn't receive a reply, Byrne leaned back in his chair. From the looks of the boy, he was probably a poet, not as bad as those horribly unconvincing clean-cut singers Clarissa would go googly-eyed over, but soft in the head all the same. Byrne had an idea what this was all about. He wasn't surprised. He'd gone through it himself, too. Not that he'd ever admit it.

He decided to test his theory. "We're all friends here, Link. Nothing to be shy about. You mooning after the princess? Is that it, eh? Got a little soft on her?"

Link didn't reply, but Byrne felt certain he was on the right track. "You're not the first, boy, don't you worry about that. Looking for a way in! Ha! _You _are looking for a way in -

Byrne's blood turned ice-cold as the sudden realisation slammed into him. " – You _are _already in..."

The young man named Link smiled a thin, humourless smile.

Link burst into motion. He pushed down hard on the table with his palms, slamming the far end into the Byrne's chin. Glass cracked and splintered. Dazed, the Head of Security toppled backward. He still had enough time to see Link jam an elbow into the guard on the left, stunning the man, before following it through with his right palm to the man's jaw. The man dropped.

The guard on the right, startled, made to move, but Link stopped him in his tracks with a kick to the back of his knee. Swinging around, he sent this last guard down with a swift jab to the side of the head.

Byrne watched, paralysed by both pain and fear, as Link walked over to him, eyes cold. He tried to scramble back, tried to raise his hands to fight. He was too groggy, his vision spinning far too fast.

Byrne saw the fist coming.

He saw little else after that.

...

Link pulled the com from the man's lapel. "Navi."

A transparent projection of the little fairy swirled into life before him. That's all she could manage, this far from the ship. "Here."

"You get the voice capture?"

"You have to ask?"

"Do it, then."

"_Voice masking enabled."_

Link spoke into the com in the fallen man's voice. "Listen up, this is a code -"

"Zero-Zero-Byrne-Zero- One-Alpha-X," Navi whispered.

" - Zero-Zero-Byrne-Zero-One-Alpha-X. I want all non-essential units out in the palace gardens. Now. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill."

Link dropped the com. "What does that leave us?"

"Just Midna's guards. And two more outside a prison cell."

"Where's Midna?"

"_Scanning._" Silence followed. "In her Throne Room."

"Find me a path. One of least resistance, yeah?"

Navi flashed him a smile. "Naturally."

A floating map of electric red flared into life in mid-air and hovered serenely in front of his face. His eyes darted as he scanned. Academy training kicked in. "Got it."

The map disappeared in a sparkle of disintegrating symbols. "You sure that was the right code, Nav?"

"O ye of little faith," she crooned. "I got into the palace's system. He's an old softie. No worries."

"How?"

She grinned. "My charming personality, of course. Flashed him a racy bit of code and he was just begging to do my will. Sucker."

Link stared at her for a heartbeat. "_Right," _he said. "Let's move."

He stepped over one of the downed guards and paused only to scoop up a sword from the other. It ignited with a green glow as he stepped out of the room. Link turned left, passed pillars of marble veined with pulsing emerald lines, then slipped to the right, under hand-carved arches - painted jade, like most else here - then through a large, empty room that had a sparkling fountain as its centrepiece. Slowly moving spotlights with glass the colour of lime cast their light against the gently sloshing water.

As he walked, his boots softly tapping the reinforced glass beneath, Link asked, "How much time do you think we have until they raise the alarm?"

"I'd give them half-an-hour."

"That long?"

"I've studied their files a bit, yes. They've never had a genuine security breach here at the palace. Ever. They'll search the gardens. They'll find the little surprise I left there. That'll keep them busy a bit."

Link didn't ask. Navi, nonplussed, went on: "When they try to raise their boss back there on his com and get no response, they'll send a few back in to check. By the time that lot have found him dozing deep in la-la land and got the alert going - well, half-an-hour, like I said."

"Let me know when they get busy, then."

"Will do," she said. "Can't stay."

She vanished. It was taking her a lot of energy just to project that image from the ship, past all the security tech, and into the palace.

Link skulked on, dashing from shadow to shadow. Skulking seemed to be all he did lately - on his own ship, in the bowels of the Gerudo battlecruiser, and now here in the palace of all places. He didn't pursue those thoughts, though. They were just dim flicks from his subconscious.

Instinct was what was propelling him on now. If he could stop his mind from thinking, he would have. Just an empty shell with a single purpose, that's who he was now.

Link crouched at the crossroads between passageways, checked for the all clear, then darted onward. He stopped again at the next fork, heart skipping. He peered to the left, then to the right.

Empty.

It amazed him at just _how_ empty this place was, though. They'd done their research, and they'd picked this night for a reason. And, yeah, sure for a place this big it was strange that the only ever occupants were the princess, her maids and the security guards - it was most of the latter two who had the night off - but the emptiness of the whole place still struck deep in Link's mind.

_Why have a place this huge and not fill it with life?_

Arrogance. It poured out of every inch of the palace. The princess's, to be exact. She kept aloof from her people and thought herself invincible. Untouchable.

_Just like the Aveil._

Link pushed the thought aside. Fear still pinched his every nerve. You never escaped from that. He never believed the animated pictovids he'd seen as a kid, the ones with the eerily calm and forever brave heroes. No one could be like that. Not unless they'd been injected with the ReDead virus and were nothing more than shambling, unfeeling zombies.

You just did what you did. Fear was your ever-present companion, more intimate than sharing a warm bed with your beloved. You just had to make sure you didn't get swept away in fear's mammoth tide.

Link felt a warm tingle at his waist. The Triforce piece still snuck in the pouch on his belt was alert and throbbing. He didn't know what it meant, but he felt oddly comforted by it.

Everywhere Link moved he saw floating pictovids, their mini propeller driven engines buzzing like mosquitoes, each screen transmitting the same silent image of Princess Midna, no doubt mouthing away something about how great she was and what a stellar job she was doing. Link resisted the urge to sweep through like tornado, cutting down each and every one with his borrowed blade.

He dived under an arch into yet another corridor. This one had all the same trimmings: glass floor that blushed green at his every step, emerald chandeliers, lanterns bathed in a jade glow. Link glanced down at his own clothes, all the same dark forest-green.

_Good thing I dressed right for this party._

He ran the map by in his head. At the end of this passage would be a staircase leading to the Throne Room. Guards would be posted up there. Midna would be within.

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

Link's eyes fell to his clam-com. This time he knew it wasn't Gortram. The Goron had taken Saria and was waiting on the _Maximus _on the easternmost edge of the city. They'd agreed to complete com silence. There was a time and place they'd rendezvous, and there was a long while till then.

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

With his free hand, Link flipped the com up and open. "Who is this?"

A series of buzzing clicks followed, then: _"This is a dangerous game you're playing, isn't it?"_

"Who _are _you?" The import of the man's words suddenly hit him. "What do you mean? What is it you think I'm doing exactly?"

_"You're in the Emerald Palace. At a guess, I'd say you're there to see Midna."_

Link froze. The man went on: _"Oh, don't worry, you've not been compromised."_

"How could you possibly know?"

"_Eye in the sky, my friend."_

"I don't really have time for riddles."

"_You should trust me. Remember we spoke after your encountered the Wind Fish? Didn't I say the princess was lying then?"_

"Lying about Zelda? No, you didn't. Not exactly."

"_Apologies. It was a bad connection."_

"What do you want now? I'm a bit busy."

"_Just to show you something. You're very close. It won't take more than five minutes."_

Link had to admit that he was curious. Not just about what he was supposed to see, but about the mystery man, too.

"Do it."

"_Then stop right here._"

Link did. He glanced around. "It's just a wall."

"_Place your com against it. I'll work my magic from here."_

Link pushed the clam-com against the wall. The shell whirred and clicked. _Tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-tic-_

A net of yellow energy spewed out from the device all over the wall.

Link took a step back as he stared.

The wall vanished.

Beyond he could see what seemed to be a cell filled with a trio of women. One, back straight and chin high, paced up and down the room. The other two huddled in hushed conversation on the room's solitary bed. They seemed too finely dressed to be prisoners. The image flickered, melting briefly under a wave of distortion.

"What's this?" asked Link.

"_Guests of the princess. Captive guests, shall we say."_

"Can they see us?"

"_No. But you can see them. These are the wives and consorts of a group of Hyrule's dying nobility who tried to stage a coup against Midna."_

"Where are the men, then?"

"_Dead."_

"And these women?"

_"You'll find the reason quite unbelievable."_

"Try me."

_"Midna has a bizarre plan for them. You see, she has tried to trace Zelda's bloodline. She couldn't find an exact match, but does know this much: Zelda's ancestors were from Hyrule's ancient nobility."_

"Much like the ladies here, you mean?"

_"Indeed. Seeing as they're from good stock, the princess is going to try and replicate Zelda's biometric data from them. Then she's going to graft it onto her skin so that she can utilise the Master Sword herself. It's insane. You can imagine what will happen to these women after."_

Link took one last look into the cell, then pulled the com away. Solidity returned to the wall instantly.

"Not my concern," he said, voice cold.

"_Seriously?"_

"All that matters is Zelda."

"_What? How can you say that? These are innocen-"_

Link snapped the clam-com shut and hooked it back on his belt. He took one last look at the wall, then moved on. It didn't take him long to find and scale the staircase. He sheathed his sword as he cautiously traversed the green-carpeted steps. A clock ticked somewhere nearby. Woven fibre crunched softly under his boots.

He paused mid-way. His ears pricked. He heard a shuffle of movement on the landing above.

Link began moving again, quickly picking up speed as the steps began to rise.

Navi's image popped into the air beside his head.

"Link, watch out for the-"

"Halt! Who goes there?"

Link raised his palms in surrender but didn't even slow down. It was enough of a distraction. As the first guard closed the gap, opening his mouth to yap some more, Link took him out with a knee to the stomach followed by an elbow to the back of the neck. The second and last guard, a female, leapt in. Link's hand flew over his shoulder to draw his blade. One pinpoint slash was all it took to send her down and out. The air hummed with discharged energy.

_So slow. What do they train them at the Academy nowadays?_

He put the weapon away, then walked slowly up the last few steps to the next floor.

Navi fluttered her wings in front of the Throne Room's door. "It's open."

Link pressed his lips into a thin smile. "Of course it is." He touched the varnished oak. "Make yourself scarce, Nav. The princess and I are about to have a word."

...

Princess Midna rose from her plush, velvet covered chair as Link strode purposefully into the Throne Room. If she was surprised to see him, she didn't show it. She stepped down from the polished marble dais upon which her throne sat. Behind it, arranged in a semi-circle, a bank of pictovid screens showed a myriad different images, mostly of people, mostly - it seemed - from Castle City. Link didn't recognise a single one.

"A personal visit, Link?" she said, as she stepped daintily toward him. The glass floor beneath responded to the touch of her boots with a trail of glowing green lights. "Oh my, I'm honoured. I told you if you wanted to get in touch I'd given the means of doing so to your fairy."

Link came to a stop. "Yeah, thanks for that. That's how she got into the palace's system."

"Clever girl. Too clever."

He scanned the room quickly. The princess was unarmed. There didn't seem to be any other guards present. To his left, a huge glass window made up the entirety of the wall. It opened up onto a view of Castle City, sprinkled with lights, its airspace crawling with ships.

Midna paused a few steps away from him. "And what can I do for you, my most _loyal _servant?"

He looked her straight in the eye. "Tell me you didn't know. That you were completely ignorant. Tell me you didn't know Zelda was the Aveil. Tell me and I'll believe you. Really, I will."

"You won't." Fractured lights from the ships passing far outside cast bright white shadows through the large window onto the crystalline floor. "You won't because you already know. You came here for answers. And then revenge. In that order. Correct?"

"You knew Zelda was the Aveil, then."

"I did."

"And yet you still wanted me to kill her?" His eyes never left her face. "Why?"

She arched an eyebrow in amusement. "I'm sure you can work that out yourself."

In truth, he already had. He just wanted to hear it confirmed from the princess's own lips.

"She can wield the Master Sword," he said. "So that gives her the right to rule."

Midna's triumphant smile was all the confirmation Link needed. "And what do you think she would have done with that power? How would you have rated her chances? A little girl from a backwater town called Kokiri. Look at what I've achieved - do you think she could match that?"

"So you wanted her out of the way."

"Oh, stop it. Stop making everything seem so...so..._moral. _It's not like that. _Life _is not like that."

Link's voice was as blank and featureless as all the reinforced glass beneath his feet. "Then why?"

"It's nothing personal. She could never take care of Hyrule like I have." Energy hummed in the background. "Whether you like it or not, I am good for you. Good for you all. If you weren't so arrogantly naive you'd see it yourself."

Link looked into her crimson eyes. They glittered, cold and empty.

_Just like me?_

"Now what?" said the princess, apparently unnerved by his silence. "Will you kill me?"

Link hesitated for a heartbeat before he spoke. "No. I just wanted you to let you know."

"Know what?"

He kept his gaze fixed on hers. "That I could get to you. Anytime I wanted."

Her lip twitched. "That's good," she said. "About you not killing me. Because I doubt you'd be a match for me. Oh, I've read your file. Near the top of your class in both swordplay and hand-to-hand combat. It was a shame to have to let you go, really."

They began to circle one another slowly, the air between them tense and soaked with an emerald glow. Dust motes tinged with the colour of fresh apples floated lazily in the gap. Midna spoke again. "That's dirt beneath my boots compared to what I know. Why do you think I hardly keep any of my people here?" She smiled. "I don't need anyone to guard me. To babysit me."

Link's feet danced soft and slow. "And what would you use as a weapon? I don't see the Master Sword. Did you lose it?"

"I don't need it." They continued to circle. Their fingers tensed, ready. "Do you know what I excel at?"

"Being modest?"

The princess scowled. "You just don't fathom it, do you, Link?"

"Explain it, then."

She sighed as she shook her head. "You're like someone who sees a magnificent portrait but only looks up close to see the imperfect blotches of paint. And I, on the other hand, quite literally see the whole picture. What I'm doing is beautiful."

"Beautiful." The word felt sour in his dead voice.

_Make your actions be beautiful, Link._

Link stopped. The princess followed suit, confused.

The entire room suddenly fell under a scarlet hue. A klaxon sounded in rhythmic bursts.

"_Intruder Alert!" _an unseen voice intoned. "_Intruder Alert!"_

Link let no emotion show on his face. "I'm going." He paused. "In fact, you know what? I'm taking some of your 'friends' with me."

"What? What do you mean?" Midna's voice began to rise in its pitch, becoming almost hysterical. "Don't turn your back on me, soldier. You won't get out of here alive. You _will not. _You must know now that you can't be allowed to live."

Link turned on his heel and walked away.

...

Byrne knew exactly what he had to do the moment his men had woken him and sounded the alarm. He had a job, entrusted to him by Princess Midna herself. Get the noblewomen out. Let his men and women deal with the intruder, he had more pressing matters. He didn't know why these traitors were so important to Her Majesty, but he would never question her wisdom. What kind of idiot would do that?

Unluckily for the three women, Byrne's encounter with the young man Link had left him in a pretty sour mood. He'd turned the lights off, bar a few from the little room outside the cell.

His blood buzzed at the thought of his victims scrambling in the semi-dark, fearful of his approach. The tingle he'd felt earlier that night had yawned open to become a gnawing itch. One that could only be satisfied by showing these traitors just who was in charge here. His mouth dried in anticipation.

Heaving, he stepped away from the woman who had addressed him earlier that night, his hand still shaking. She lay crumpled on the floor, tears spilling over the angry red welt on her cheek. He wouldn't hurt them much, of course. The princess needed them alive. Maybe rearrange that high nose a tad, put a bit of a bend in that straight back. Just enough for it be so sweetly cathartic.

"You foul common beast," she whimpered. "My husband will hear of this, I assure you."

"Newsflash, lady," Byrne growled, grinning. "Hubby's dead."

Her eyes widened. She tried to speak, but nothing escaped her lips except a whimpering moan.

"And not only is he dead," Byrne went on, "But you may as well be getting used to my face instead. Who knows? Maybe you'll be waking up next to it. Might be my little reward from Her Majesty. Just don't tell the wife, okay?"

She spat at his feet. "Scum."

"No manners," he laughed. "That's the problem with you upper-class toffs today, I tell you."

"Kill me, then," she moaned, head bowed. "But let the others go. I beg you."

This was too much. His soul sang, drunk on the joy of it all.

Byrne leaned in close. "Oh, got a spine now, have you?"

Her wide eyes twitched. He loved how she was trying so very hard not to cry.

"Please," she whimpered in that pathetic nasally voice of hers. "Why? Why are you doing this? What have I ever done to you?"

"You really want to sacrifice yourself for your little - what did you call them again?" He threw the other women a knowing glance. "Oh, I remember. 'Lower-station' friends, yeah? No. You lot will be coming with me. Got it?"

Bloodshot eyes stared back in defiance.

"Fine," Byrne said, his voice blank. "More fun for me."

He raised his palm again. The woman flinched, her eyes scrunched shut as she readied herself for the blow.

It never came.

A vice-like grip caught Byrne's wrist, twisted it, then pushed him further into the cell before letting go. He spun around.

A dark shadow filled the open doorway, outline illuminated only by the glow of an energy-sword. In the alcove beyond, Byrne's two guards lay flat on the ground, unconscious.

Byrne drew his own blade. "They're all out there looking for you. And you just happened to waltz straight up to me. You won't find me so easy this time, runt."

Link took in a deep breath and held his sword aloft. His arm bent back at the elbow and the sword's hilt, gripped in his fist, hovered beside his ear as a result. The blade rested lengthways in the air, parallel to that same arm, raised just an inch above his left eyebrow. Byrne twitched.

_Interesting stance. What's the boy's game here?_

Byrne tried with a tentative jab. Link's sword struck instantly, snapping through the air and skewering Byrne's own blade in two. Stunned, Byrne shot a look up -

Just in time to duck Link's swinging high kick. With a gargled yell, Byrne caromed forward, ploughing into the boy's midsection and sending the two of them out into the alcove beyond. Link's sword skittered away from his grasp, spinning across the floor in a trail of crackling jade sparks.

They rolled on the ground, each trying to gain an advantage over the other. Two punches split the side of Byrne's cheek. He struck back with a jab to the jaw so strong that Link's neck twisted roughly to the right.

Byrne grinned. He saw a sudden opening and, his heart singing with glee, slammed his forehead into the boy's. Another head-butt followed. Link slumped in his grasp.

_This _is what he loved. The old sparring champion from back at the Academy purred within his heart. He loved to use his fists. True, he preferred to use them against women - they were so soft and yielding, after all, and he felt drunk with that rush of power he had over them - but this boy Link was an acceptable substitute.

Byrne allowed his muscles to sag in relieved victory.

It was a terrible mistake.

Link's knee rammed into his stomach. Winded, it took just a hard forearm strike to get him to slide off onto the ground. Pushing his palms flat against the ground, Link sprang back to his feet with a deft kip-up. He took one glance at Byrne, rubbed his sore neck, then made to retrieve his sword.

_Now who's made a mistake?_

In those precious few seconds, Byrne leapt and picked up a blade from one of his fallen men. He lunged forward. Link spun around, just in time for the energy-drizzled weapons to clash.

All Byrne saw in that blur of energy and steel was Link's eyes shining bright with what, amazingly, seemed to be righteous indignation.

Byrne grit his teeth. _Is this boy for real?_

Their swords danced. Byrne thrust, Link parried; Byrne spun, sword slicing air, Link deflected, then landed a kick to the chest for good measure. Byrne stumbled, throwing up his sword instantly to block Link's pinpoint lunge. They pulled apart, then, with a snarl, Byrne went for Link's head with a neat forward slice. Link ducked, elbowed Byrne in the knee, then took out his legs with a sweep to the back of his shins.

As Byrne tumbled forward, fear and pain straining his heart, he saw Link deftly spin his sword once, twice, then stop all of a sudden - the blade lay frozen in the boy's hand, business side up.

It was only as he fell further that Byrne realised exactly where the point of the sword would go.

He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the end.

...

Link tugged his blade free, then pushed the dead weight off of him. He tested his neck, wincing under the pain. The force of the man's punch had twisted it something fierce.

Beyond the alcove door he heard the shouts and the clatter of the Emerald Palace's security combing the corridors outside. They didn't even bother to check in here. Why would they? What intruder would make his way to the prison block? There was no out through here, except the way he'd come in.

Link cast his stolen sword away. It clanged to ground, sputtering sparks. He gazed into the open cell. The three women cowered in his presence. Link swallowed, and tried to soften the muscles in his face.

"I'm here..." He had to clear his throat to stop himself from croaking. "I'm here to help," he said at last, voice gentle. He held out a palm.

He saw the woman who he'd directly rescued stand up suddenly, her eyes glittering with haughty pride, her chin firmly jutting in the air.

"You are granted permission to do so," she said, ignoring his outstretched hand.

_Riiiight._

"Navi," said Link.

The little fairy's projection popped into the air. "Here, Master."

"Stop that, Nav."

"Yes, Master. Would you like a drink with that? Extra large?"

Link sighed. "You've got the escape route...?"

"Absolutely," she replied, smiling. "You know the drill. Pipes in the wall lead down to the sewer. Break the wall. Go down the pipe. Enter the sewer. We'll pick you up in the _Maximus._"

"Sewer?" the noblewoman said, aghast. "Did she say sewer?"

"Well, you could stay here," said Navi cheerfully. "You are, however, liable to die if you do so. Send us a postcard, won't you?"

"You heard the fairy," said Link. He gestured with his hand. "Come on."

The woman glared at them both, then with a grimace, she motioned for her companions to follow. She favoured Link with a look of pure distaste as she stepped past him. "You may lead the way."

Link resisted the urge to shake his head. He was about to turn to one of the walls when he heard the familiar buzz of his clam-com. He flipped it open.

"What now?"

"_Nice job," _the voice replied.

"I'm glad you approve."

A soft chuckle followed. "_What's the plan after you escape here, then?"_

"I haven't thought that far ahead."

A silence followed that was so long that Link was about to put the com away, thinking that the line had cut. Finally, the voice resumed.

_"I think, Link of the Kokiri Settlement, it's time we met face-to-face._" There was a hint of a smile in that mysterious voice. "_Don't you?"_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Go, go, _go!"_ Eleven-year-old Link pushed Zelda further into the forest as the angry sound of the mob approached - stamping feet, snapping twigs, that sort of thing. Some of the Kokiri kids had decided that today would be pick-on-the-foreign-girl day. They tended to celebrate this one a few times a month.

Link knew their game, though. Whoever was the first to make Zelda cry would be declared the winner. They'd had to downgrade it to just making her eyes water since she didn't cry very easily. They even kept score. Mido tended to be in the lead most of the time.

Well, Link wasn't having it. He held a gnarled, lichen-coated branch in his hand. Sure, it was a bit damp, given the sprinkle of rain the Settlement had had recently, but it was enough. He'd fight them all off if he had to. Pure instinct pulsed in his every vein.

"Up here, Link!"

He glanced behind him. Zelda was quickly scaling up a nearby tree. "Be coming quickly!"

Adrenaline shut off his mind. He followed her up, his palms clinging to the rough, scratchy bark, his fingers drawing sticky sap. He gently nestled himself onto a sturdy looking branch just at the very moment the children stormed by underneath. He grinned.

It was then that his brain finally caught up to him.

"I'm up a tree!" he squeaked.

Zelda bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. "After all these years," she giggled. Her own branch shivered in response. Spiky green leaves rustled. "You are finally following me up!"

Link's hands gripped the tree limb so tightly his knuckles blanched. "I don't like this!"

"Sshh," she cooed, reaching over to gently rest a hand on his sleeve. She herself lounged there like a queen on her throne, her legs swinging idly. The cool rain-washed breeze flicked strands of her golden hair over her brow. "Do not be worrying."

Link felt the moisture evaporate from his mouth all the way down to his throat. "How long?"

"Just a few moments more. Until we are knowing we are safe."

The branch holding him up began to sag. His head spun.

"Keep your mind away from it, Link," said Zelda, her voice patient. "Look. Be asking me something."

"Like what?"

"Anything," she replied as she kicked air. The very act made Link feel dizzy. "Anything you wanted to know."

All he wanted to know quite right now was how and then his feet would touch the comfort of solid ground again.

"Um," he said instead, his eleven-year-old brain working furiously. "W-what's your favourite colour?"

"Tsk," Zelda said, her face a picture of mock-sternness. "You are knowing me this long, and you don't know the answer to this?"

Link glanced at her dress. "Pink?"

"No!" she laughed, her hands smoothing the fabric of her outfit self-consciously. "This is what my mother is making me wear. _All _the time!"

"Oh," he replied. "Then...?"

"It is being green, if you must know," she revealed. "It reminds me of my homeland."

Link knew this was a touchy subject. To this day, she still wouldn't tell him the name of the place where she'd come from. "D-do you ever go home?" he asked instead. "I mean, to your own land?"

"No," Zelda replied. "My father, he does sometimes. It is because he has another wife there."

Link blinked. "What?"

"Yes," she continued. "This is the way it is being in my culture. It is not as bad as you are thinking." Her brow creased gently in thought. Sunlight pooled in the furrows. "My mother and I are not knowing much about her, though."

Link was still digesting all this. "Another wife?" he said. "Really?"

"_Yes._" The tone in her voice suggested that she'd entertain no more on the subject, especially not anything approaching mockery.

"Oh," said Link at last. He glanced down. "I think they're gone."

She pushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes as she checked for herself. "That is being good."

The ground seemed to be an awfully long way away. His throat was tickling. Though his illness was slowly disappearing day-by-day, he still got the occasional cough attack. He felt one coming along just right now.

"How do I get down?"

"Together," she replied, voice soft. "We will be working together. It is being the best way."

"I don't know."

Her wide eyes caught the sunlight and flashed their sapphire brilliance. "You'll be _fine._"

"O-okay."

That was all it took for him to believe her. He didn't know what it was about her voice that won him over so easily every single time, but he was glad for it all the same.

"So," she said. "Shall we go?"

And they did, Zelda gently leading him by the hand, slowly descending, step by stumbling step. When they reached solid ground, she surprised him by throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight.

"You were being very brave," she declared.

"Well, you did help..."

"No," she cut in. "I am meaning with the stick. How you were going to fight them off." She looked away shyly. "For me."

Link felt his cheeks redden. His gaze fell to the carpet of dried leaves and mud under his boots, but somewhere deep within he felt something suddenly strengthen, like a part of him had been newly-forged. His heart glowed.

Zelda pulled something dark from her pocket. "Here," she said. "For my gallant knight, Link. His very deserving reward."

Link gently took it from her. "What is it?"

"A stone," she explained. It glowed dully, a scarlet jewel set in a smoky quartz square. "But a very special one from where I am coming from. For friends. Real friends."

"Oh." For some reason, Link no longer felt the need to blush. Whatever new had been born within him was slowly becoming bolder and bolder by the minute. His fingers wrapped solidly around the gift. "Thank you."

She smiled a broad smile.

The vision blurred. Darkness seeped in like ink spilled over clean, white paper. Zelda's smiling face faded in and out, replaced at every other second by the shining metal mask of the Aveil. The clouds overhead grew pregnant with the threat of thunder, their underbellies suddenly smudged black. Still Zelda's visage continued to blur, switching quickly from her own to the Aveil's.

Zelda.

The Aveil.

Zelda.

The Aveil.

Zel -

* * *

Link, blinking, found himself staring at the ruby Zelda had given him long ago. Dust had gathered on its once glittering surface. It sat there, a lonely ornament on an otherwise bare shelf. He blinked again. He must have zoned out. The very idea caused a tendril of fear to lightly brush at his heart. It was a bit strange how his visions of the past were coming even when he was awake now.

Link lifted the ice-pack from his neck and tossed it aside. It landed with a dull thump. Still sore from the fight back at the palace, he began pacing up and down the length of his modest room. He felt the faint shiver of energy under his feet, felt the comfort and peace he always did when he came back to the ship.

_Came back home._

Link cast the sentiment aside. He'd already made up his mind.

_The Righteous Maximus _herself was currently cutting a low-flying path through some of the seedier areas of Castle City. This was where the men stalked the streets with bloodshot eyes, and where the women caked their faces with so much paint that it felt as though they were made of porcelain, too fragile to be touched. Gaudy lights marked the latest prices and promotions of the myriad services on offer, much like the light show Link had seen back in the mirage town of Haven.

Dark and murky, the crew of the _Maximus _ hoped places such as this would be enough to keep them from prying eyes, especially eyes belonging to those of whom who had a beeline straight back to the princess. They themselves had things to discuss now, and Link had invited them to his room to do so.

Saria and the captain sat on a pair of chairs around an old-fashioned wooden table. Link had put out a bowl of fruit in a token gesture of hospitality, taken from the supplies the Wind Fish had left them. Link still found that whole business odd. If the food was from the Wind Fish, then was it actually real? Were their bodies truly being nourished? And the thought that disturbed him the most: how exactly could this stuff still exist if the creature itself was dead?

Link didn't like the direction of _those_ thoughts, so he reined them in and kept his mind away as he went on pacing. A starlit sky peeked through his room's single porthole.

Gortram folded his arms. "You look like you've got something you wanna get off your chest, Link."

"Forget how he looks," said Saria, wincing. "It's the smell that's the problem." She directed a pointed stare at Link. "You stink."

"Thanks," Link replied.

"No, really," she went on. "I don't think the citrus scent of these oranges are quite covering it up, y'know? And do you really expect us to eat this when you're assaulting the dignity of our noses here?"

Link grimaced. "Hadn't really thought about that..."

"Sprog's right, actually," said Gortram. "You should be cleaning yourself up like those high-fly ladies you brought along with you. Can't have been too nice wading through the city's sewers."

"Wading?" said Saria quietly. "Or swimming? I'm guessing 'swimming'."

The captain ignored her. "I suppose what you've got to say just can't wait. Am I right?"

Link stopped. He steadied himself with a deep breath. "You are." He ran his fingers through his hair, prompting Saria to hiss under her breath, "Hope that hand hasn't touched anything nasty."

"Look," said Link, swallowing. "It's like this." Why did he feel so nervous? His mind was set. "I just wanted to clear something up."

"What would that be, lad?" the captain said patiently.

"I'm leaving." His eyes searched each face in turn. "You two don't need to be involved anymore."

Saria rolled her eyes. "_Whatever."_

"I'm not joking."

"Are you trying to get a double whatever out of me? Be warned, the universe may unravel if you are."

Gortram interrupted. "She's right."

Saria grinned. "I'm doing that a lot lately. Being right, that is."

"Hush, sprog." Gortram shifted in his seat. The wood creaked. "Link. Lad. You don't want to leave. This is your home."

Link felt a tug at his heart that he wished he could just ignore. "I have to."

"I thought you were big on the whole 'working together' angle."

"Not for this," Link replied, his voice steely yet soft. "No way for something as big as this."

Big Goron palms came to rest on the chipped wooden tabletop. "This isn't the kind of thing you do alone."

"Isn't it? I was just fine on my own in the palace."

"You were _not._"

"Not what?"

"Neither on your own or just fine. You know it, lad. The only reason I let you do that fool's raid into the palace was because we had Navi helping you. And you had me and the sprog waiting to pluck you out of that mess."

"No." Link was adamant. "It's not your fight."

"Think it is now."

"Yeah," Saria added. A hanging light illuminated one side of her face. "You said the princess wants you dead, yeah? So how do you think she's going to go about that, hmm?"

Link waited for her to continue. She duly obliged. "Well, she'll be calling in on us first, won't she? Oh, and thanks for that, by the way." She gave Link a pointed look.

"No need for that, sprog."

"Yeah," said Saria."There isn't. Because the only reason Midna even knows who we are is because we told her the ship's name when she contacted us. Thank _you_ for that, Fearless Leader." She turned her glare on to Gortram. "And then there's the Gerudo..."

Link shook his head. "No. Go home," he said. "Your real homes. Hide away. I'm sorry you're both in so deep in the first place. But you don't have to go any further."

"Go home?" said the captain. "What home?" Sadness filled his liquid-black eyes. "I've got no one back home. This ship is my life. You snag that? I devoted my _life_ to this, to help out in any little way I could. What would I do instead?"

"Yeah," Saria piped in. "And I'm -"

"And _she," _said the Goron, "is with me. Entrusted to me. My care."

Saria scowled. Link had no time for all the dramatics.

"Look," he said. "I could've just left, you know. Quietly. You wouldn't have even noticed. I'm only telling you this so you don't come after me. This is done."

"Oh, get _over_ yourself, Doctor!" cried Saria.

That stung. Link waited. "What?"

Gortram held up a hand. "You're not the only one who thinks they can do a bit of good, you know."

"Yeah," Saria added, folding her arms in defiance. "So drop the high and mighty act."

Link swallowed. "Sorry."

Gortram's voice had a soft lilt to it. "Don't you remember what I told you before, lad? About how I saw all the same ills of the Gerudo in the Hyrulean Alliance? Well, it seems to me that you rescuing your friend is a cause I can get behind. Gives us a purpose. And what's life without purpose, eh?"

Link's heart heard the words and felt an echo of smudging doubt. His mind, however, was adamant. "No. You can't. You just can't. No arguments. I'm turning around, okay? I'm going to count to ten. When I turn back, I expect you both gone so I can clear out my things."

Link spun on his heel and faced the wall. He studied the glowing threads of light energy that seeped through the lines and wrinkles of the wood. "One-two-three-four-five." He took a deep breath. "Six-seven-eight-nine-ten."

He turned back.

Gortram sat, face blank, his elbow propped on the table and his chin resting in his palm. Saria had a distinctly sour look hanging from her young visage. Her fingers tapped an uneven rhythm on the wood. "That was a fun game," she said. "Have you got another?"

Link looked from one to the other. "Why?"

Saria's face softened. Her voice followed suit. "Can't you tell, Link?"

He felt his throat tighten with emotion. "It'll be dangerous."

Fear flashed in her eyes for just a moment. "We've managed this far."

Link's own eyes swung from one to the other yet again. All he could manage was a soft, "Thank you."

"Right," Gortram quickly cut in, clearing his throat. He tossed an orange into the air, caught it in mouth, then swallowed it whole, peel and all. "You're saying you've got some mystery man piggy-backing your com, yes?"

"Yeah," said Link.

"Navi can't trace it?"

"No."

Gortram stroked his beard, his brow furrowed. "Hmm..."

"He wants to meet," Link added before the silence got too awkward. "Wants us to bring Midna's prisoners along with us."

"Why?"

Link shrugged. "He said he'd take care of them."

The captain snorted. "Good luck to him. Especially with that mouthy one. What's her name again?"

"Ruto," said Link. He'd managed to glean that out of her on their shared trip out of the Emerald Palace. The other two were named Denna and Beil. They seemed content to let Ruto do all the talking.

"Ruto." Gortram shook his head. "Thinks the world's going to hand her everything on a plate."

"Nah," said Saria, a mischievous edge to her voice. She began pawing idly at the fruit bowl. "Ruto just wants _you_ to hand everything over on a plate."

"There's more," said Link.

"Go on," said Gortram.

"He wants all of _you_ to come as well."

"It's a trap?"

"Of course it's a trap," said Saria. She picked up an apple with glossy red skin, sniffed it suspiciously, then bit into it. "Isn't it?"

Link shrugged. "It's why I wanted you all out of the way."

"Well," said Saria. She took another bite. "Too bad. We're in this together now."

Gortram spoke. "Where does he want to meet?"

Link told them.

...

They stepped out of the cool night and wandered under the yawning brass arch that marked the entrance to the Great Bay hoverport. Link, Saria, Gortram and Ruto all stood, waiting. They'd left Denna and Beil with Navi back at the _Maximus. _

"Ugh," said Ruto, her chin raised dismissively. "Public transport."

Saria's reaction was markedly different. Sure, she still had a smile fixed firmly on her face, but her mind just couldn't help but allow Link's words tumble over and over.

_It'll be dangerous._

Her throat tightened and her eyes began to itch. There were people everywhere here. Lights, too, sharp and bright. She felt exposed. Her eyes scanned every face that passed by, searching for a hint of danger. No one looked her way - not the young families with children either laughing or crying, not the serious looking men and women in their fine dress, not the casual travellers with their faraway looks, easy laughs, and laid-back smiles.

All that meant nothing, though.

They all waited a moment more at the edge of the main concourse. A glass dome, home to a dozen fluttering birds who had somehow snuck in a long time ago, stretched overhead. A never-ending chorus of voices mixed with the buzzing drone of the hovercrafts nearby. To top it all off, there was a huge pictovid projection just hanging there suspended in mid-air. Red letters scrolled across its surface every so often.

Saria read them in her head. It gave her something to do: _Brave Hyrulean Forces fight off minor Gerudo excursion in The Domain de Zora _and _808 Days of Gerudo-Hyrulean stalemate and counting _then _Sports news today -_

Saria pulled her eyes away. She gazed around.

The entrance was to the south and led to the main concourse with a floor so polished they could see their blurred reflections in it. On the east side was a large stained-glass window dyed emerald, while on the west the information screen glowed with a list of destinations and departure times. Saria read off some of the names: _Holodrum, Faron Forest, Ordon City..._

Letters and numbers fluttered as the data changed minute by minute. To the north was where the platforms lay, most of which had a rumbling hovercraft sitting alongside, skirts inflated and pulsing with glowing energy the colour of gold.

It was to the north of the port that the little were headed.

"Why so public a place?" said Gortram, head down as he leant in toward Link. "I don't like it."

No one replied. They'd all heard the captain voice his complaints on the way down here. Saria kept her ears alert, waiting for the tell-tale sound of danger. All she got was the cacophony of voices and energy-driven engines.

"What's your angle, lad?" the Goron went on. "We split-up?"

"No." Link's reply was instantaneous. He had his long coat buttoned up, his hands thrust in his pockets. He was unarmed, too. A sword, Saria knew, would be just too conspicuous. "We stay together."

Ruto sniffed. "I cannot say I am very partial to all this."

"You'll be fine," Link said. His eyes seemed to be soaking in every detail. "We all will. You all just have to listen to me. Listen carefully. Do you all understand?"

"Aye, Link," said Gortram. "I snag."

"All ears," said Saria with a smile. No matter what she felt deep inside, she would never show it up top. That's how she'd made it through her life so far.

Link somehow seemed to sense it anyway. "We'll be okay, hey?" he said. "Just listen and we'll do great."

Saria made a face. "'Doctor voice.'"

Link threw her a smile before turning his attention to the noblewoman. "Ruto?" he said. "Are you with me?"

"It's _Lady _Ruto," she said. "And my silence was my consent. Don't you know any etiquette?"

"Sorry," Link replied, not sounding sorry at all. "They don't teach that at the Academy." He turned away. "Okay. _Okay._" He rubbed his chin. "Let's do it like this, hey? Saria, you hold the captain's hand like he was your Da, okay?"

She overcame her unease for a heartbeat. "It's _so _obvious that he's not though, isn't it?"

"Doesn't matter," Link replied. "Just do it. Ruto -"

The woman in question coughed politely.

"_Lady _Ruto."

An elaborate hand gesture told him to continue. He gave a short nod. "Link arms with me like we're a couple."

"Excuse me?" the noblewoman replied, both eyebrows arched. "I most certainly will not."

"Listen, we don't have time for discussion."

"I think we do, young fellow."

"_Don't argue!"_ Link hissed. "Do you want to stay alive or not?"

She glared at him for a heartbeat, her eyes pools of ice, before roughly thrusting her arm through the crook of his. "Shall I smile prettily, too?"

"It'd help," Link growled.

"Oh, how in love we are," Ruto ploughed on. "So much so, that we've torn all social barriers asunder." Her nose wrinkled. "You did have that bath, didn't you...?"

"Just keep smiling and stay quiet."

As the captain's large hand took her own, Saria felt a memory flash in her mind: being hunted in dark alleys at night, living in forced cheerfulness during the day, learning never to speak of the ever-present danger that lurked in every shadow. She saw her mother, dying in a pool of her own blood, as she forced a promise from a kindly-looking Gortram. Saria squeezed it all away. She hadn't revisited those times in a long, long while.

Link glanced up. Saria followed his gaze. A fairy hovered over a multi-faced large clock hanging over the centre of the concourse, its broad gaze slowly sweeping across the whole port. Saria felt a muscle deep in her gut tense.

"Turn right," said Link. They did, moving as one. Saria glanced up again - the fairy was facing left.

"Where are we meeting this mystery man?" Gortram growled.

"Platform Eight," Link replied. He dodged the passers-by with agile grace, tugging Ruto along with him. Saria wasn't nearly so lucky. Twice now someone had smacked into her shoulder, almost sending her careening away. She winced, her eyes glowering.

The captain squeezed her hand, then squinted. "There's no hover there," he said. "Looks like it's not a platform they use they much, either."

"Sounds about right." Link snapped a quick glance over his shoulder. The muscles in his face tightened. "We've got a tail."

Saria was about to turn her head when Link said, "Don't."

Her heart sped. She bit her lower lip momentarily to stop it from trembling. Images floated in her head: what if it came to a fight? How would she handle herself? Helplessness added itself to the cocktail of emotions churning inside.

"Who is it?" she managed to ask. "Our contact or one of Midna's?"

"I can't tell," said Link.

_Or someone else entirely._

Sweat burst open on Saria's brow as they walked on. She struggled to keep control of her breathing. The small of her back prickled, as though the flesh there expected to be pierced any moment now by the crackling touch of an energy blade.

"Left!" Link commanded suddenly.

They turned, narrowly dodging an oncoming rush of passengers who had only recently disembarked their hover, and as they did so Saria dared take a peek behind. In that split-second she caught a glimpse of their pursuer. It was obvious who it was. He was a big guy, and had his cold eyes fixed squarely on them. Other people were just fodder to be pushed out of the way of his path. Saria's heart hammered against her chest.

"Over there," Link said, pointing to a row of shops and stalls back against the southern wall. As they headed that way, they seemed to enter a haze of different smells: meat spitting on a fire, the tang of melted cheese, the sizzle of catch caught fresh from the sea.

Saria didn't care. Faces began to ghost by, each holding an intent of menace that only she could see. The children, too - their laughing seemed forced, their eyes seemed far too bright and alert. Any one of them could be ready to strike. The sounds of the hoverport morphed into a low moan that spiked into her ears.

_I feel sick. I'm going to be sick._

More memories came to her: screams, the silver flash of a depowered blade, the crimson tears dripping from her mother's wound, mimicking her own tears, the real ones made of salt and water.

"Wait." Link's voice made them all pause in unison. He was looking up. It was the security fairy, her gaze slowly swinging their way once more. "Over here."

They ducked under the striped canopy of a nearby stall. The owner looked up at them, unperturbed. "Nuts?" he offered, shaking a tin container.

"Uh..." said Link.

Gortram came to his rescue. "We'll pass, thanks."

The man shrugged. "Suit yourselves." He turned away. "NUTS!" he cried. "GET YOUR LOVELY NUTS!"

The items in question roasted on a spit that slowly turned over a glowing charcoal pit. The spicy scent accompanied with the sudden wave of heat made Saria feel even more queasy.

She tried to distract herself. Her eyes swung around, drinking in the sights. A young lady smiled at her as she walked by. Saria tried to smile back, but the moment had passed and the lady had gone.

She noticed instead how Ruto was digging her nails into Link's sleeve in quite the unladylike manner. She noticed more how tightly Gortram was holding her hand. She looked up at him, saw the worry dancing in his eyes, and threw him a reassuring smile that she certainly didn't feel. His grip relaxed.

A jingle sounded. "_Attention, please," _a soft feminine voice said, rippling through the air. "_Please be on your guard at all times. Remember, the Gerudo could be anywhere. And never forget that Princess Midna loves you all, truly and deeply. Please report any unattended baggage immediat-"_

"We can't go to the platform," Link said, drawing all their attention on to him. The merged voices of the passers-by faded into the background. "Not with the tail."

Saria tensed, swallowing. Gortram spoke, "So, what's the plan?"

"This is insanity," Ruto butted in. "I demand to be taken home at once!"

"Listen, lady," the captain growled. He drew himself up to his full height. Ruto stood her ground. "We take you home and you'll end up dead before dawn. Snag?"

"Don't talk to _me_ like that!"

The raised voices were making Saria's skin crawl. She began to pant in fright.

"Hey, come on, both of you," said Link in the calm voice that Saria, in the back of her mind, recognised as his 'doctor voice.' "Stop. Please." He waited until they both complied, their eyes turned to him and him alone. "Listen. I think I know how to shake him. You all just wait here while I -"

"No!" Saria said, pulling out of Gortram's grasp. "We'll die!"

"Saria, no!"

She didn't even know who the voice belonged to. All that she knew was that she had to run, to hide, just like old times. She shot through the gaps between people that only she could fit through, her boots ramming hard against the floor. Platform Eight was just up ahead. She didn't know why, but her mind screamed at her that if she could just reach it, she'd be safe.

Safe and free.

Panicked, Saria fought her way through the crowd of passengers, twisting this way and that, certain that her next step would be her last. She rounded a corner -

And stopped in the face of a lead arrow jutting from a micro crossbow humming dangerously with energy. A young woman with tanned skin looked her straight in the eye. Saria took a step back. Recognition was like a slap in the face. It was the woman who had smiled at her only a few minutes back.

"Bang bang," the lady said. "You're dead."

It had finally come. The day when she had to stop running. Had to stop smiling.

Saria scrunched her eyes shut and waited for the fatal blow.

"Stop!"

Her eyes fluttered open. It was Link. She dared peek out of the corner of her eye to see her little group arrive behind. Just as they did so, a group of six men - three large, three not quite so - stepped out of the shadows and surrounded them. One of the men was their tail.

Link gazed around at them all before his eyes settled on the woman. "We've got no argument with you, whoever you are," he said. "We're just here to meet a friend."

The young woman held a com up to her lips with her free hand. "_Nice to know you consider me a friend already, Link of the Kokiri Settlement." _The com filtered her voice into that of a man's. "_We're off to a great start, I can see."_

Link's eyes widened. "It's you."

She moved the com away. "It is." She gave the device a little wave. "Communication piracy. That's our game."

"You had us followed."

"You were asking for it." She chuckled. "I have to say, you lot do stick out like a sore thumb. It was like watching a marching parade the way you all turned and walked at the same time. I was cringing."

Link looked a little abashed. "I'm...I'm a little out of practice."

"You don't say?"

The young man quickly took hold of his composure. "Can you not point that thing at my friend?"

The young woman looked at Saria as though seeing her for the first time. "Oh, sure," she said, letting the weapon arm drop. "Sorry."

A hovercraft engine flared to life somewhere behind. The roar filled the port in its entirety and rang in their eyes. Slowly, as the hover began to slowly reverse out, its lights blinking, the sound began to fade.

"Now," said Link. "Who are you? All of you?"

"Wow," the young woman replied. "You're a bit pushy considering we're the ones with the weapons."

Link began to turn. "We're leaving."

"Oh, don't be like that."

Link stopped. "So...?"

The corner of her mouth curled upward. "Alright," she said. "These fine gentlemen you see before you are the crew of _The Waking Wind. _My name's Captain Tetra." She flashed them a winning smile. "I'm Zelda's sister."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_###_

_Recording..._

_Ugh. Communication pirates. _

_I feel violated already._

_I had a friend back in the day, you know; Ciela was her name. She was a cutie, wouldn't hurt a fly. One day - pop - pirates download a virus into her, hack into her pretty little head and, without her even knowing, they extract every last drop of data she had stored in her data banks. It broke her. She never lived it down ever after. _

_Evil. E-VIL._

_Grr._

_Makes me want to cry._

_In fact, I think I will._

_Don't go nowhere._

_###_

_Yeah, sorry about that. I'm back now. _

_So we at _The Righteous Maximus_ now have to work together with Captain Tetra and her pirate crew. Double ugh. Tetra's related to Link's friend Zelda. Half-sister, apparently. Me, I don't see the resemblance._

_Probably because I have no clue what this Zelda looks like, but let's not go there._

_What do communication pirates do with all that data they steal? Why, sell it to the highest bidder, of course. The cads! But get this: Tetra managed to get wind of some super secret data project the princess was undertaking. She even found out when the key component was being delivered. So, what does she do? Only takes _The Waking Wind_ and goes and raids this ship [Designation: S.S Linebeck, under the command of Captain Linebeck. Should've just called it the S.S Narcissist.]. _

_On board, she finds this massive cylinder-shaped device known as the Eye in the Sky. Basically you launch it into the atmosphere - which Tetra did, naturally - and it can pick up and observe each and every inch of Hyrule. Every blade of glass, every secret whisper, e-ver-y-thing. Sweet! You should see all the pictovid screens they've got hooked up in the cargo hold of _The Waking Wind_. It's a wonder these pirates don't go all square-eyed. _

_Anyhow, this is how Tetra was able to keep track on Link and tap into his clam-com [or 'the child's toy' as she dubbed it]. She kept a beady eye on the princess, too - that's how she knew Midna was going to lie to us before we even did. Worse, there's no way to trace the Eye in the Sky. No wonder I could never detect it. And for a minute there I thought I'd become obsolete._

_It's like some sort of...Mega Fairy._

_..._

_Sorry, that was just me gasping in awe. _

_So these communication pirates. Getting all the latest tech is their thing - they need it in their line of work, you understand. That Eye in the Sky thing, though..._

_The thing is it needs a lot of juice. So Tetra wants all three pieces of the Triforce to power it, and wants us to lend a hand. In return, she'll help us get the Master Sword and show us where Zelda is. The thing is, apparently, Zelda is currently located exactly where the big cheese is - yeah, that's right, to find the Aveil we're going to have to pay Ganondorf Dragmire himself a visit. Tetra says she knows where he is. Sweet. I do love a challenge._

_So, where's the Master Sword? Ever heard the phrase 'hidden in plain sight'? Well, Princess Midna must be a big fan, because that's exactly what she's done. There's a replica of the sword in the Hyrulean Museum in Castle City - it's the centrepiece of their collection. But guess what? It is the actual sword! No lies! No one knows this. Just the princess. Well, no one but Tetra. _

_Even then, Midna's got some heavy-duty precautions in place - guards, alarms, fairies. Somehow not even the Eye in the Sky can penetrate the museum. Weird._

_The Master Sword, then. That's our first goal, us lot from the _Maximus _and __**that **__lot from _The Waking Wind. _In fact, we've spent the last two weeks working together figuring out just how we're going to get it..._

_###_

The hat didn't suit him. In fact, Link just wasn't a fan of hats in general. This one had a wide brim made of dark felt to keep out the sun. Except it wasn't the sun he was hiding just right now. It was his face. Link looked across the street.

The entrance to the Hyrulean Museum of Castle City was an imposing facade of twenty tall, granite pillars topped by a triangular pediment that bore the following words carved onto its face: _ Constructed By Her Benevolence's Grace. _Birds with bobbing heads had taken the opportunity to soil each and every letter.

_Good on them, _thought Link.

He and the pirate captain Tetra stood in front of a non-descript building directly opposite. The young woman had her back and one foot resting against the cold wall, arms folded and with one knee bent. Stone steps led down to the bustling street before them.

It was the calm before the storm, so Link had wanted to use this opportunity to set a few things straight. Tetra, though, saw straight through him.

"You're going to ask a question, aren't you?" she said. "You're going to spoil the moment."

Link forced away a smile. "I'm curious. I admit it." He blinked. "And what moment?"

"The moment where I need to get into the zone so we get this right," she replied. "Go on, then. Ask."

"Alright," said Link softly. "Tell me again why you're helping us?"

Tetra kept her eyes fixed straight ahead. "Ha! Dodging the point, aren't you?" she replied. "Anyhow, I already _did _tell you. I just want the Triforce. I swear, you better have been paying more attention when we planned all this."

"There's more to it than that, I think."

"Uh huh."

Link sucked his front teeth in thought. He idly fingered the hookshot bracelet nestling under the sleeve of his coat. "You took Ruto and her friends in. You said you'd keep them safe."

A miniscule shrug followed from the pirate, a blink and you'd miss it kind. "Someone had to."

"You were upset -"

"I don't get upset."

" - you didn't take kindly to me when I said I wasn't going back for them in the palace." A heartbeat. "There's more to you than just simple piracy."

Tetra blew air through her gritted teeth. "Wow, you like to dig deep, don't you?"

It was Link's turn to shrug. He had a long cylindrical leather bag hanging from his shoulder. "I'm just asking."

"What can I say? Daddy dearest knew that one of us - Zelda or myself - would turn out to be the 'Destined One.' So he had _responsibility _drummed into us. Old habit. Hard to break."

He waited a moment, grateful for the insight, before he ploughed on. "I'm guessing you sometimes give your info away for free, yeah? When someone..._really_ needs it...?"

"You're treading on dangerous ground now," she replied. The slight smile on her face made light of the sternness in her voice. "Don't get me wrong. I don't care about either Dragmire or the princess. We like to be free over on _The Waking Wind. _Consider myself and my crew as the 'middle way.' But Daddy wanted this done, this whole thing with the sword and Dragmire. And only Zelda can do it."

"Did you even know her?"

"Ah _ha. Now_ we get to it."

A hovercraft rattled overhead, followed by a paddle boat in the opposite direction, propellers spinning. A river of people surged below, most of whom were dressed smartly for work. Exactly the type of clothes both Link and Tetra had decided to don today.

"So," Link prodded. "Did you?"

"Briefly. I was the elder. She was sent away when she was three. Don't know where she went initially. It wasn't until she was seven that she ended up in Kokiri, right?"

Link nodded. "What happened to you, though? You stayed back in...?"

Tetra was too clever to fall for that lead in. "I was sent away to the best schools Daddy's money could buy."

"That's weird, hey?" said Link. "You being the comfortable one as a kid, but still chasing money now."

Tetra snorted. "You're not going to get all judgemental, are you? Now? Seriously?"

"Sorry. It's your life."

"Too right." She allowed the hum of streetlife to overtake her for a moment, before adding, "It's Zelda you want to know about. Too bad. I doubt she even remembers me."

"She never mentioned you."

"Well, there you go, then."

"So, you're not concerned about your sister at all?"

"_Half-_sister." Impatience tightened the thin lines around her eyes. "Look. Just get me what I want, and I'll get you what you want. Deal?"

"You didn't answer my question."

"Let's just do this, okay? Remember - I want you handing over the Triforce of Courage once this is all done and dusted. Don't you forget that."

Disappointment coated Link's words. "You'll get it once you've shown you're trustworthy." He paused, then added, "You need the other two pieces, though, yeah? What's the plan -"

"I just need your Courage piece, and the Wisdom one that Dragmire has."

Link blinked rapidly. "You've got the Triforce of Power?!"

A wicked glint shone in Tetra's eyes. "The princess won't even know it's gone." She grinned at Link's open-mouthed visage. "Well, she will. But it'll be too late by then. And she won't have a clue who took it from her."

Link didn't quite know what to say to that. He didn't have to - his eyes were drawn away as a large man pulled away from the crowd. It was the guy who had tailed him back at the hoverport, a pirate by the name of Nudge. He held up a beefy hand. Tetra nodded.

"We are go," she said.

She began trotting down the steps, then paused, swivelling on her heel before jogging back up. Link waited in puzzled expectation.

"You know," she said. "Daddy wasn't too keen on the fact that one of his daughters would be the one to end Ganondorf. Hated it, in fact. You can't always change the world, he used to say, but you can damn well change yourself. That's what really counts. But sometimes we're born to do a specific job, aren't we?"

"I suppose so. Why?"

"I've got something for you. And just in case we don't make it - well, here, take it. For you."

She pulled a crumpled, yellowing piece of paper from the pocket of her black suit, then handed it over to Link. Frowning, he slowly unfolded it. It held a crude drawing - a child's drawing - of a boy and girl, all stick limbs and smiley faces, holding hands. They both had straw coloured hair. The boy wore green, the girl pink. Someone had scribbled an 'L' under the boy and 'Me' under the girl.

Link looked up, his eyes questioning.

"Zelda drew that just before we were separated."

"You're joking. You said she was just _three._"

"She gave it to me. Said I should always keep it."

Link raised an eyebrow. "And you did."

Captain Tetra ignored that. Her voice softened. "She was waiting for you. I don't know how and why, but she was. How about that?"

Link felt the muscles in his throat tighten.

_I chose you a long, long time ago..._

He coughed away his discomfort. "Thanks. Really, thank you for -"

"Now shut up," she cut in, grinning. "And let's get this done."

...

Captain Tetra shuffled forward along with the rest of the queue, all heading toward one counter where two overworked clerks stood guard. She pulled at her suit. Way too tight. How did women breathe in these things? And why were they so sure this was all it took to get a bit of respect?

She glanced behind her. Link and Nudge were standing together, a little further back in the line, appearing for all the world like two mates on a day out. There were a pair of pictovid screens above the door they'd just entered, and two more over the counter up ahead. She knew these were the visitor count screens, and kept track of exactly how many guests the museum was hosting at any one time.

The line took another step forward.. Tetra took a look around the foyer. It was a cavernous area, covered by a steel and glass ceiling made up of diamond shaped panes, each separated by thick black lines. A rich carpet embroidered with the symbol of the Hyrulean Alliance - steepled fingers over an etching of the Emerald Palace - kissed their boots beneath. The sun pouring in through the glass above cast a net of shadows on the floor.

The queue moved some more. Tetra tapped her foot in impatience. There wasn't much else to see here. Sure, there were a few token exhibits, housed in illuminated glass cases, but obviously nothing of terrible interest. Being surrounded by inane conversation didn't help, either. Honestly, could these people think of nothing else except what they wanted to eat at their next meal..?

At last, she reached the counter. Anticipation began to thrum in her veins, washing away her earlier edginess. A bespectacled clerk - small, thin and wearing the expression of the utterly bored - gazed up at her. She smiled.

"Hi," Tetra said, her voice all sugar and honey. "One ticket, please." She pressed her thumb against the plate. The visitor count screens switched from '56' to '57'. "Oh, and could you be a sweetie and check if I left my purse here? I was in a few days back with my family and - silly me! - I think I may have dropped it."

"Of course, ma'am." Annoyance danced in his eyes. He clearly didn't have time for this. The clerk turned away - that was the signal.

Nudge burst into action. With a howl, he peeled away from the queue, his thick fists banging his chest. Shouts and screams followed right on cue - the crowd, dispersing in panic, had played their unwitting part beautifully. Tetra had to stop herself from smiling.

Nudge began kicking at some of the glass display cases. Glass cracked. Alarmed, the two clerks shot out from behind the counter. All eyes turned toward Nudge. And it was in that instant that Link sneaked past and into the museum.

...

The two weeks of prep had done Link good. Old skills had finally slotted back into place. There was no thought now, just instinct and action. He glided through the people already milling about around the countless exhibits, all of them oblivious to the commotion Nudge was making in the foyer beyond.

Link passed a fairy as he strode purposefully into a large area designated the North Wing. Her eyes glowed. Link didn't flinch. He knew that she was scanning his bag.

Tetra seemed to have almost bottomless resources. That, or she just managed to get the latest tech before anyone else. Good thing, then, that Tetra's crew had coated his bag with the latest scan-blocking tech. Not even the military had access to this stuff.

The fairy wouldn't see the replica Master Sword - another gift from Tetra who'd managed to procure one in an info trade - or the greenish-yellow clothing hidden beneath. The sword wasn't just a prop for their plan, either. Designed and weighted to the same specs of the original, it had proven invaluable in Link's two weeks of practice.

He made a show of examining each exhibit as he passed, his eyes darting as he moved onward. Here, the broken shards of something called a boomerang, there a rotted remains of an ancient weapon known as a bow. Link paused briefly at one particular display, his eyes drawn explicably. The fairy hovering beside the display blared into life just as he did so.

"And here," the fairy said cheerily, "we have a musical instrument from ancient agrarian times." She made a sweeping gesture with her arm. "This was called an ocarina, and some believed it to have magical prop -"

Link turned away. His eyes honed in on a sign hanging above. The Master Sword exhibit. East Wing. It pointed toward a single corridor, already filled with eager patrons. Link moved.

The passageway had been darkened for added effect. Children cried, parents scolded, people chatted. One girl, about the age of eighteen, caught his eye and threw him a wide smile. Link smiled back. It was only polite.

Six minutes later and Link found himself in the main exhibit. Voices were muted here, hushed, as people crowded around the oblong glass case sitting atop a replica of a grassy mound in the centre of a circular room.

Even Link felt a tug of awe. His mouth dried. The Master Sword was the sole artifact in this entire area. The winged hilt glittered purple as it hovered above the polished metal gleam of the depowered sword, its tip housed in a groove set at the bottom of the case. Four large windows poured sunlight in onto the display, adding a sparkling aura to the proceedings. Chittering birdsong was being continuously piped into the room.

_Focus._

Link pulled his gaze away and scanned the room. There was only one way in and out for members of the public - the sole corridor he'd just stepped out from minutes earlier.

Six fairies hovered above, their eyes fixed on the sword. Four soldiers stood guard, one for each corner of the square case. The visitors thought it was all for a show, of course, a quaint way of letting them know just how important the real sword was. Link knew better.

Link took a casual stroll around. As he did so, he pulled a silver strip from his pocket and began to roll it around between his fingers. The guards were each armed with two rapiers on their belts and an immense broadsword strapped to the back. Expressions of grim determination hung from their faces. Their eyes were darkened pools.

Link knew then that he wouldn't stand a chance if it came down to a brawl between him and them.

These were Midna's best men. Tetra's info had revealed that these soldiers had been charged to stay guard, no matter what. No alert would faze them. No order - save from the princess herself - would make them budge a single inch. They would only leave - taking the sword with them - if they themselves saw any obvious danger.

Hands clasped behind his back, Link shifted his attention to the display case. The glass inside was alarmed, but the outside was not. The idea was that nobody could remove the sword without it touching some part of the inner glass. The case itself was welded fast to a steel column that was shrouded by the fake hillock. There was no way of just making off with it.

Next, Link turned his thoughts to the six fairies. He kept the brim of his hat carefully positioned so that they couldn't see his face. The six fairies were state of the art. They had eyes for nothing except the sword. They thought of nothing else beside it. Their tech was so advanced that no communication pirate could hack in.

_Not from the outside._

Link casually let the silver strip drop to the floor. Midna obviously wasn't expecting anyone to attack the fairies from right in here. Any sane criminal would take precautions by trying an outside hack. And who would bother, after all? To all intents and purposes the Master Sword on display was a fake, worth nothing.

"Nav," he intoned sub-vocally.

Voice codes kicked in. The fairy's reply came directly into his ear. "Here. I'm on it," she said. "Can I just go on record to say how much distaste I have for this part of the plan?"

"Noted. Link out."

He moved away from the silver strip. It was a scrambler, another neat bit of tech from the pirates, one that would disable every fairy in the building. All Navi had to do now was find the right frequency...

Everything else about Midna's security seemed watertight - except for one tiny detail. Twice a day came the changing of the guard. There were four solid steel doors in the room set at the four points of the compass. The guards would go straight in, and their replacements for the next shift would take over. The whole process took exactly thirty-two seconds. The fairies made sure they were extra vigilant during those times.

Thirty-two seconds...

The changing of the guard, then. The next one was due in just a few minutes.

...

Tetra peered down into one of the display cases, palm pressed against the glass, her breath misting the surface. She'd been strangely drawn to this one. An intricate carved model of a boat sat inside - the type of boat that used to skim across the seas - all red with a dragon-ish head. Sharp light cast it in fine relief, and the crimson paint glistened. She had to pull herself away. The time was near.

Tetra looked around. Everything had settled down now. Nudge had been escorted out, and the museum had fallen back into its usual, laid-back pattern. The clerk had clean forgotten about her purse request and had just shooed her through.

Tetra glanced up and to the side. A large red button hung from the wall, the caption beneath declaring: _For Emergency Use Only. Penalty for Improper Use._

Tetra crept in a little closer. No one looked her way. The people around her were too engrossed, craned over the glass-encased exhibits or simply just lost in easy conversation with one another. Tetra took one last look to the left, then to the right. She raised her palm, tensed her fingers. Then hit the red button.

Scarlet light fell over the entire museum.

"_Alert! Fire! Alert!"_

...

Link followed the crowd of people out of the Master Sword exhibit room, the siren ringing in his ears. The guards and the fairies hadn't move an inch. As he slipped into the only exit, he suddenly pressed his back against the wall and waited. People flowed past him, their minds too struck with worry to pay any attention to him.

Link knew that somewhere in the city Gortram and Saria were aboard _The Waking Wind, _accompanied by the pirates Zuko and Niko. Aided, too, by the pirates' Eye in the Sky, they were rushing to intercept the emergency fire crew heading this way right this minute. They weren't going to use the_ Maximus; _it was far too risky. The mining shipwas hidden away in one of Tetra's private docks. Link smiled. She certainly had resources did this pirate.

Link waited until he was all alone.

...

Tetra was one of the last ones to exit. As each person filed through the door, Tetra saw the visitor count diminishing - '7' it now said as she approached, then '6'. Just as she spied the sunlight outside, a group of three men clad in the fire crew colours of greenish-yellow stomped in. Tetra didn't need to even look at them to know it was her men: Gonzo, Senza and Mako.

She allowed herself to smile as she stepped out into the fresh Castle City air.

...

"Oh, thank goodness you're here," the lead clerk said, marching up to Senza with his colleague scuttling close behind. "Very quick, I must say."

"We pride ourselves on it, matey," the pirate replied. "Could you shut that alarm off?"

"Of course, of course."

"Anyone left inside?"

The clerk looked up at the visitor count. It glowed with a big fat blue zero. "No one at all. Except some of the guards for the Master Sword exhibit." He shrugged sheepishly. "Princess's orders, you understand."

"No worries," Senza grinned. "Think you and your friend should step outside while we take a look around."

"If it's all the same to you," the clerk replied, wringing his hands. "We prefer to stay here. Just by the exit."

Senza tipped his head. "Suit yourself." He made a gesture to the others. "Come on, boys."

...

The 'fire crew' stealthily made their way down the single corridor to the Master Sword exhibit. Gonzo had taken the lead now, being Tetra's right-hand-man. Link was already there, crouching in the near-dark. The guards still hadn't moved - they wouldn't, not unless it was a real fire and the flames had reached the exhibit room itself. Then you'd see some action. And if a couple of them happened to die as they took the sword to safety, they'd be ready and willing. These were Midna's most hardcore troops.

Four metal bolts snapped open. The doors inside the room swung open.

The guards moved to leave. It was time.

"Nav," Link whispered as he rubbed his chin. Tension tingled his spine. A transparent projection of the little fairy appeared in the air. "Do your thing."

No communication pirates could hack into these fairies. Tetra's Eye in the Sky was unable to penetrate the walls of the museum.

Neither of them were Navi the fairy.

Her eyes shrunk and glowed gold.

"Still working on it," she said.

That's not what Link had wanted to hear. He swallowed. Seconds passed. His finger twitched.

"There."

The silver strip flashed. The six fairies all sagged at once.

"They're in fairy heaven for now," Navi said, disapproval etched on her face. "And transmitting the same picture of an empty room. You've got twenty-five seconds. _Twenty-four..."_

Two weeks practice had made them lightening quick.

They sped swiftly into the room, surrounded the display, and dropped their gear to the ground. Link crouched and swiftly unzipped his bag. Mako did the same. The little pirate pulled out a tiny circular device. Senza and Gonzo stood guard, eyes tracking and alert.

"_Twenty-one."_

The Eye in the Sky wasn't the only piece of tech the pirates had swiped from the _S.S. Linebeck. _Mako carefully placed the experimental warp gate onto the glass, then flicked it on. It spun, whirring softly, then shimmered blue. A hole opened up on the glass. Link licked his lips and reached up a hand.

"_Eighteen."_

"Here," said Gonzo, throwing him a pair of gloves. "Wear these. So you don't leave a trace."

Link slipped them on, readied himself, then put his hand through the warp hole. It passed straight into the cabinet. Heart thudding, Link's fingers wrapped around the steel hilt. He could feel its coldness even through the gloves. He tugged it free.

"_Fifteen._"

The countdown wasn't helping. Icy sweat ran down his face. Inch by painful inch, Link carefully angled the sword so that it wouldn't touch the glass.

"_Thirteen."_

Link's heart clenched painfully as the sword slipped. He grasped it suddenly, paused, then just pulled it straight out through the mini warp hole. Everyone relaxed.

"_Eleven."_

He quickly placed the Master Sword by his feet, then scooped up the fake one. He pushed it through the warp hole, tip first.

"_Ten."_

One eye squinting, Link steadied his trembling hand as he aimed the sword for the groove at the bottom of the case.

_"Nine."_

The fake sword slotted neatly into place with a click. And just as it did so, Link's foot slid an inch forward. His boot struck the Master Sword. It went spinning across to the opposite side of the room.

"_Eight."_

They all froze, staring. Link felt his heart skip a beat.

"_Seven."_

The sword was too far away now to simply go and pick up. They just didn't have the time.

Gonzo cut a hand across his neck. Abort.

"_Six."_

_The Waking Wind's_ crew stood, calmly pulling the warp device off of the cabinet, lifting up their gear, and striding straight for the exit. The hole on the glass cabinet instantly solidified.

_"Five."_

Link, still momentarily stunned, stood a heartbeat later. He made to follow and, just as he did so, instinct made him raise his right hand in a blur, one eye narrowed as he aimed.

"_Four."_

A soft squeeze of his palm sent the hookshot flying.

It missed.

"_Three."_

The dark corridor of the exit loomed in the corner of his vision. Link pulled the spike back in, aimed, and fired again.

_"Two."_

It struck.

_"One."_

He quickly wound it back in, the sword scraping across the floor, just as he dived for the opening.

_"Zero."_

With a synchronised snap of metal, the four doors swung slowly open. The guards marched in. They looked around. Everything was as it should be: the fairies hovering serenely above, alert and focussed, and the Master Sword safe in its glass prison, the metal gleaming under the warm sunlight.

Link and the pirates stood in the passageway, their backs pressed against the wall. Not one of them dared even to breathe. Sweat coated the former soldier's face. He had the Master Sword gripped tightly in his gloved hands. His eyes darted as they waited. Navi's projection had already vanished. The guards inside took their positions, totally oblivious.

Link let out a long breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding in.

Senza closed his eyes with an equally long sigh and pressed the tips of his fingers to his slowly shaking brow. Gonzo held up his own finger, then jabbed it in the direction of Link's bag. Link nodded, understanding. It was time to get changed.

A few moments later they all emerged into the lobby, Link dressed in the same greenish-yellow as the others, the bag hefted over his shoulder. A fairy popped up, scanning Mako's gear as he walked by.

No problems.

She moved to Link's bag. She paused. Everyone stopped. Another moment passed, her glowing eyes pulsing intensely. Link chewed the inside of his cheek as he waited, frozen on the spot. Still, her eyes shone.

Link felt a watery knot at the pit of his gut. He began to calculate just how long it would take for them to sprint to the exit. He began to surreptitiously angle his body in that direction, just in case -

The fairy's eyes suddenly shifted back to normal. "Have a nice day!" she chirped as she waved Link through.

A smiling Senza nodded at the lead clerk as they passed. "False alarm, matey," he said. "You can let the good people back in. Wouldn't want you to lose business now, would we?"

The clerk whistled in relief as he dabbed his brow with a white handkerchief. "Oh, thank goodness," he breathed, smiling. "Thank you." He opened the front door for them. The cool breeze made Link's brow tingle. "Thank you all."

Senza grinned in response as he led his team out. "No problems, matey. You're very welcome."

It was a good five minutes later, just as the public poured back in, that the bespectacled clerk frowned. Something had been bugging him. Something that tugged at the corner of his mind. He finally had it.

He turned to his colleague. "Wasn't there three of them?"

"What's that?"

"That fire crew. Wasn't it just the three that came in? I counted four going out. Did you count four? I'm certain it was four."

Link and the crew of _The Waking Wind_ were long gone before the first alarms began to sound. They sat in one of Tetra's personal hovercrafts, listening in silence as the roaring engine drove them higher into the sky. Needle-thin shafts of sunlight pierced through the windows and illuminated the grim masks that hung from their faces. The worn seats beneath them rattled as they ascended.

It was Captain Tetra that broke the moment. She caught Link's eye. They held each other's gaze. Slowly, a smile began to spread over her lips. She glanced down at the bag sitting on the floor between them - the bag containing the Master Sword itself - then looked up at him and winked.

Link's shoulders sagged in relief. He couldn't help but smile in return.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Cold.

It ribboned around her very soul and bit deep into her heart, filling her veins with ice.

Cold.

That's what stood out the most in this dream. That, and the deep abyss of loneliness, the type of loneliness that makes you want to hug yourself tightly while all around you - every light, every person, every_thing_ - appeared far too sharp and bright, far too large, far too _scary. _

She'd always been lonely, she realised. She just couldn't place her finger on the _how _or the _why._

There were no memories in this dream, of that she held a cast-iron certainty, but there were meanings, flitting at the edge of her consciousness, so much so that she when tried to grasp at any one of them, it would slip away like an eel quickly escaping her fingers.

The dreamscape swirled around her, unsubstantial, a kaleidoscope of colours, blurred like a watercolour painting but in constant motion nonetheless.

She was a little girl in this dream, buttoned up in a wool coat that itched every time it found bare skin - mainly her neck and wrists, both now red and sore - and with her hands balled up inside embroidered mittens. As she trudged through the powdery snow, her boots whispering with each step, she realised that one of those hands was currently been clutched tightly. She looked up. It was her father.

He had a deep green scarf wrapped securely around his neck, and his round spectacles peeked out from above, the frames glinting gold. Condensation had misted over the lenses. She resisted the urge to try and reach up to help him clean them up. He was far too tall anyhow.

Another thing she knew - from instinct more than anything else- was that this dream world wasn't from her time. The tech was all wrong. Carriages trundled by, pulled by snorting horses whose breath puffed in little wisps of steam. Oil lanterns, golden stars against the stark white backdrop, hung in latticed windows with the glass all frosted over.

Men in long tail coats and tall hats strode by, tipping their heads in greeting as they passed. The women were draped in voluminous gowns with bell-shaped skirts topped off with tightly fitting poke bonnets on their heads. Her father nodded at the men and favoured the women with a tight smile.

One thing she _didn't _know was her name. She found, strangely, that she wasn't too bothered by this. One word did prick at her mind, though, and the echo it produced within almost caused something deep in her soul to stand alert in revolt.

Aveil was the word. Aveil.

_I am the Aveil._

At that moment, deep in the dream, the words meant nothing to her.

They rounded a street corner. A carriage rattled by, mud coloured slush dripping from its oversized wooden wheels. They stopped. She looked up. They were in front of a shop, a crooked little thing in black with an equally misshapen chimney atop puffing grey smoke. Snow fluttered down all around them, a silent curtain of white flakes. The chill bit through her coat.

Her father crouched down. The lines around his eyes pinched his skin. She swallowed, feeling a surge of love that almost pricked her own eyes with tears.

"You know what you have to do, right?" he said, voice gentle.

She nodded, and he responded with a thin smile and a soft pat on her head. "Go on, then," he whispered. "And don't get distracted now."

She entered the shop. Warmth ran down the entire length of her body, so much so that she waggled her toes in delight. They squelched within her boots. She could feel the blood rush to her skin, could imagine it tinted pink as a result.

Looking around, she saw that the dimly lit shop held stacks and shelves overflowing with junk and antiques. Dust coated everything. Flimsy cobwebs added another layer. Her blinking eyes gazed slowly around. She didn't know why, but she was certain that the item she sought was a sword. A _magical _sword.

She stepped further into the shop. Melting snow slid from her boots and darkened the creaking wooden floorboards below. A wan candle fluttered somewhere on the shop counter ahead. She looked in that direction.

She saw him then. A boy with straw coloured hair and a shy smile. She knew him. Again the _how _and the _why _eluded her, but she was certain that she knew him. Warmth and joy melted the cold from her heart. Loneliness evaporated. She clean forgot exactly what she'd come in here for. A giddy smile overtook her. The boy, catching her eye at last, returned it in kind.

She knew it wasn't a memory. It had meaning - she just couldn't fathom exactly what.

The dreamscape blurred. A new day dawned.

She followed the same routine, hand clutched in her father's hand, marching through the snow, stopping in front of the same shop, her father crouching, saying the same words, her entering the shop, searching, and the boy, always the boy.

The next day came, and the same pattern repeated itself. This time she had a smile on her face, anticipation tingling just under her skin. Even the cold seemed to withdraw somewhat.

On the third day she ran to the shop, slipping and skidding, snow flying from the heels of her boots, dragging her father along with her. There the boy was again, and again the ice melted from her heart. She grinned at him, and he grinned back.

The dream repeated itself, over and over, until the tenth day came. The tenth day she knew something was wrong. The tenth day she slowed as she approached the little shop. The tenth day there was no smoke drifting from the crooked chimney.

The tenth day the boy was gone.

Her wide eyes searched every inch of that shop. Panicked, she began hauling things off from the shelves, coughing as the clouds of dust swept up into her nose, her fingernails growing dark as she scrabbled about, searching, searching, forever searching.

When it dawned upon her that he truly was gone, she dragged herself slowly out into the street and stopped, the snow first piling around her ankles, then up to her shins, then her knees. She thought that there should be someone waiting out here, someone who had brought her to the shop in the first place, but the thought danced away from her mind. It couldn't have been true. She was alone. She'd always been alone.

Her heart sank and the cold swallowed it eagerly up. Frost fell there instead. It grew minute by minute until she felt her soul encased by unbreakable ice. Her face grew old. Her posture slouched, old and haggard. Had tears come they would have frozen there and then, diamonds hanging from her lashes.

She made silent vows. Never again would she be so gullible, so naive, so _trusting. _

Years seemed to pass.

Slowly, she raised her head. She turned in the direction of the little shop. A faint wisp of smoke curled out from above. She cocked her head to one side. It hurt her neck to move.

Cold, she felt. So cold.

Still, with great effort, she pulled her feet free. Her toes throbbed in her boots. They felt like heavy blocks of ice.

She pushed the door open with a creak and stepped inside. This time nothing took the chill away. It clung to her, hugged her tight. Nonetheless, she made her away deeper inside, her heart trembling ever so slightly.

Her eyes fell upon the shop counter. Her heart spiked. There he was again! Older, yes, but unmistakeably him! Her soul surged against the ice, hurled itself against that cold cold barrier...but couldn't break through.

The boy hadn't noticed her this time. He didn't even look up. His brow was furrowed as though deep in pensive thought.

When she drew herself up to the counter it vanished. Somewhere deep inside she realised that she should have found that somewhat unusual. She didn't care.

Now the boy did look up, a questioning expression rippling over his face. She held out a hand. Slowly at first, then with some deliberation, he took it. She couldn't feel his fingers.

Their hands touched without ever really touching, then, with no music but the silent ballad that their hearts softly sung to each other, they began to dance.

It was slow at first, but they quickly picked up the pace. Quickly and easily. Their movements flowed. She spun, pirouetting gracefully, a smile fixed on her face as her eyes met his, hoping, hoping to see a spark of recognition in them.

It came.

And as it did so the dreamscape blurred again, flashing from inside that antique shop to the crimson drenched interior of a ship's cabin. Now the boy wasn't standing at arm's length, delighting in their dance, he was instead struggling in her grasp, her hand wrapped around his throat.

He spoke. "Zelda...? It's you. It _is _you."

A hairline fracture split on the smooth surface of her ice-clad heart. Her soul surged again, trying to break through. The cold overwhelmed it instantly, drowned out any thought of mutiny.

The image changed. Now it was him that was holding out his hand. His eyes pleaded. "Zelda. Please. Come with me. _Please. _We can figure this out. Come with me. Come _back._"

She heard her own voice next. "Why?"

"Because...because I love you."

And this time it wasn't just her soul that rebelled against the cold, it was her every nerve, right down to the marrow of her bone. Fighting. Struggling.

The cold grew stronger. The ice held. It murmured words into her thoughts:

_You left me._

_You were allowing Princess Midna to barter me like I was being cheap goods._

_YOU LEFT ME._

There were memories behind those words. She couldn't grasp at them. She wanted to, but she couldn't. Tears welled in her eyes.

The cold pressed against her very mind, pushing, pushing, overwhelming...

"No..." she whispered. "No!"

The Aveil woke with a start. A red dot blinked rhythmically above her. Her mouth was dry.

She swung her legs off from the bed, then picked up the featureless mask - now split open - standing in silent vigil on a bedside table. Hooking it on to her face, she let her fingers dance, imputing the relevant and ever-familiar code. The mask slid shut, block by rectangular block. Her movements were methodical, almost robotic.

Next, she reached up and touched her finger to the red dot. The pictovid screen came to life. Her heart skipped a beat when Ganondorf Dragmire's face filled it.

"_Ah, there you are," _he barked, his voice filtered with a metallic edge. _"Be ready. We have a lock on the mining ship's position. They appear to have enlisted some allies. A perfect opportunity to test my new stealth tech, I think. This time, I will lead the charge."_

And with that, the screen went blank. Thoughts danced in her heart. She wanted to plead with him - though she didn't quite know why - beg him to leave some of the prisoners alive. For questioning, of course. Especially the oh-so-familiar young man with the straw coloured hair.

But she knew he wouldn't acquiesce. The reason he was taking charge was because she'd failed last time. Failed because of her hesitation.

No more.

The Aveil braced her thoughts. The cold submerged them instantly. Satisfied, she moved off from her bed, ready to end this nuisance once and for all. The cold welcomed her.

She embraced it.

...

"That's weird."

Link's senses prickled in alarm. Drawn away from his thoughts, he looked over at the diminutive pirate. "What is?"

Zuko sat in his chair in _The Waking Wind's _cargo hold, his face bathed in the glow of a bank of pictovid screens.

Communication pirates was what Navi called them. Link knew now that they themselves preferred the term Tech-Pirates.

_They don't mind being called pirates so long as you get the tech bit right. Odd._

Zuko tapped a screen. "Iz Ganondorf's ship," he said. "Iz not showing up. The Eye in the Sky can't zee it."

Link stepped over to him and peered at the dark screen. "I thought you said you had difficulty picking Dragmire up in the first place."

"Iz true," Zuko nodded. "But the picture is uzually flipping in and out, out and in. Not gone for this long." He looked up at Link with eyes that looked permanently sad. "Iz it bad, you think?"

"Very." Link turned on his heel. "I'll notify Captain Tetra."

Link bounded up the ladder, each wooden rung shivering under his touch, and onto the deck. Once there, he paused, his eyes drinking in the scene. _The Waking Wind_ was far away from Castle City now. Along with the _Maximus _at her side, the _Wind_ hovered at the edge of the land known as the Domain de Zora.

The air was saturated with the roar of rushing water. Multiple waterfalls cascaded below in a criss-cross pattern with liquid tumbling in the colour of violet, gold, and plain old sea-green. Some of the falls bent at odd angles, others flowed straight up, pluming into the air, before raining back down into the multi-coloured froth.

The whole thing was impossible. And yet strangely soothing, too. His heart sped at the sight but not in an uncomfortable way, no. Coolness touched his skin. Even from this far out the spray tickled his face.

He'd gone down to the cargo hold to turn some things over in his mind. Specifically, a point he'd learned from a fellow student back in the Academy: Comprehension without over-thinking. The guy's name had been Rauru, and Link had envied the easy manner through which he simply seemed to glide through life.

It was another thing Link had aimed for in tandem with Zelda's advice about beauty and action. Weird how such things stirred up so much passion within him. Maybe it was because he'd considered first Zelda, then Rauru as close friends at the time, though he'd hardly ever thought of the latter since he'd put the military behind him. Or maybe it was because Link just had no desire for material stuff - after all, he and his Mama hadn't had that much in the first place. Very little, in fact, except each other.

And without _things _to aim for, Link had had to aspire for matters that were a bit more abstract.

_You have to understand without thinking, _Rauru had said. _Know, but don't think. Sometimes - not always, mind - you have to leave your reasoning behind. Sometimes there are things that are beyond the reach and remit of your brain. If you can't grasp this, you'll end up over-thinking, and might find yourself wrapped up too much in yourself._

Link wondered if that wasn't exactly where he was just right then - wrapped up in himself.

As Link walked across the deck, he considered the pirate ship. It was a handsome vessel, single-masted, large, and propelled by engines so quiet that you had to strain your ears to catch its soft hum. They were all aboard the _Wind_ now. The _Maximus _hovered beside, its sole occupant Navi, left to watch over both the ship and the Master Sword tucked safely aboard. He hadn't even looked at the thing since he'd taken it. Hadn't even taken it out of the bag. He didn't really want to.

Nor did he want it here on the pirate ship.

His own sword was now strapped securely in a scabbard on his back. He'd rather carry that around than the Master Sword. Link had to admit he did feel a touch uneasy about leaving something so important behind but dismissed it - he could trust Nav.

Buoyed by the thought, his heart sang in relief.

Understanding. No over-thinking. _Just _right.

He didn't see the ladder until the last minute. He clattered into it, a dull metallic echo followed, and the world went abruptly dark. Something cold and wet spread down his face and down the length of his long coat. The scent of soap made his nose twitch. It took him a moment to realise that he had a bucket stuck on his head.

Irritation - and a fair bit of good old embarrassment - flared in his heart as he pulled the offending item off. He cursed himself - a trained soldier - for being so clumsy, then shifted the blame onto whichever idiot had left this whole thing in his path. Light returned to his eyes.

A young pirate skivvy stared at him nearby, aghast and panicked. Scared, too. Link's feelings melted slightly.

"I'm sorry, man," Niko gasped. "Really, I am. I was just going to wash the mast and then, well -"

Link let free a low breath. "Leave it."

He'd need to exercise soon. The hand-to-hand trainer he'd had back in the Academy had been someone quite unique. He'd taught Link the precise techniques to use when phantom sparring in order dispel the rush of energy brought on by anger. As a result, the trainer had had an almost eerie penchant for patience. Something Link had wanted to emulate but - as in most things in his life - he'd failed quite spectacularly at.

"Really?" Niko said, unsure.

"Don't worry about it," Link replied. "Sorry I got in your way, hey?"

The relief on the pirate's face allowed Link to smile in response. As he stepped away, he found himself face-to-face with Captain Tetra. She wore an odd, yet amused, expression. She folded her arms.

"What?" he said, after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

She nodded in the pirate's direction. "I'd have just cursed Niko out and told him to get out of my way. He deserves it sometimes." She paused. "Would've made him walk the plank, too."

"I doubt that," he replied. "Any maybe I did want to lash out."

"But you didn't."

Link wasn't sure what her point was. He shrugged. "Alright. And...?"

Tetra shook her head. "You're quite something, aren't you?"

Annoyance was starting to prickle him again. He had to bat it away. "What do you mean?"

"Well, let's take a look, shall we? At all the things you've done. Only two fatalities since you started this whole shebang." She counted off the points with her fingers. "One when the Gerudo first attacked your ship. The second when you rescued Ruto. Both..._understandable._"

"Yes." He blinked. "So?"

"And the chance to take out Midna and get a bit of revenge. You didn't take it."

He finally realised where she was going with all this. He felt uncomfortable with the scrutiny. "And all the injuries I've dealt out. You forgot that."

Tetra's face was blank. "They're not dead."

He allowed himself a humourless smile. "They need to earn a crust. What if they can't anymore? And the Wind Fish. You forgot about him. He definitely died at my hands."

"Wow," she replied, slowly shaking her head. "You really like beating up on yourself, don't you?"

His smile stayed in place. He just shrugged.

_Make your actions be beautiful, Link._

Well, where was it? Could a warrior live up to all that? Really?

_Don't get too wrapped up in yourself, either, _he thought. _Because you won't even realise when it's happening._

Right.

He let the thoughts dissipate.

"Come on," he said. "You wanted to discuss something, yeah? With the others?"

Tetra gestured with her head. "Yeah, they're waiting. Just finishing breakfast, in fact." She unfolded her arms and moved off toward the stern of the ship. Link followed as the pirate captain spoke again. "You've still not given me your Triforce piece."

"Were you really expecting me to?"

"No," she replied with a smile. "That's why I like you." She nodded greetings at Senza and Gonzo as they passed and ducked under the hovering form of Spryte, the ship's silent fairy. "So I guess we're in this together until we track down Ganondorf, huh?"

Link remembered Zuko. "Yeah, bit of a problem with that. Your Eye in the Sky's lost touch with him."

"Hmm." Her eyes narrowed. "He's up to something, I'm sure."

"How will we find him now?" Link asked. "How will we find Zelda?"

She glanced over her shoulder to offer him another smile. "We'll think of something."

A table had been set up at the rear of the deck. Gortram sat there, leaning back in his chair satisfied as he rubbed his ample stomach. A crust of bread sitting on a plate marked the last of his meal. Saria sat beside him, drinking from a bottle with a straw. Dark coloured liquid fizzed up the transparent tube.

"This Koola stuff is _so_ good," said Saria, shaking her bottle. The liquid frothed and fizzed within. "It just _pops _on your tongue."

Gortram frowned. "You shouldn't be having that for breakfast, sprog."

Saria scowled. Link smiled as he sat down. "Told you, boss. Told you she'd get addicted."

Twin green eyebrows arched. "I am _not_ addicted. This is only my fourth glass." Saria took one look at his drenched coat. "Anyway, what happened to _you?" _Her voice took on a gently teasing lilt. "Did you decide to take a likkle dip in the pwetty waterfall?"

Link ignored her. Tetra threw Saria an odd look as she slid into her seat. "The drink's courtesy of Prince Ralis of the Zora." She snorted. "And I should think so, too, considering how much he's charging us to dock here."

Unease lined Gortram's face. "Ain't you worried he'll pass on word to the princess?"

Tetra smiled sweetly. "Not for the amount of money I'm paying, he won't."

"Right," the Goron grumbled. "Anything for a bit of coin."

The pirate woman waved away his concerns. "Relax. We go...uh..._way _back."

No one dared ask any further. The churn of rushing water filled in the gap.

"_Sooo,_" said Saria when things had gotten close to uncomfortable. "What's the occasion?"

Tetra smiled. "Just a bit of intel we've come across. About Zelda's condition."

Link's ears pricked up. He leaned forward. "Go on."

"Well," she continued, "Let's just say she didn't join Dragmire by choice."

Link pursed his lips. "I could've told you that."

"Maybe," Tetra replied. "But the tech he used, it's pretty advanced. I'd be envious if it didn't have such a sick purpose to it. You see, it's some kind of mind changer device, but it can only work if the mind in question has something raw and nasty to feed off of."

Link felt his heart turn to lead. "Like what?"

"_Obvious,_" Saria piped in. "Bad memories, y'know? Am I right?" She turned to the Tech-Pirate. "Tell me I'm right."

Tetra nodded. "It has to be something festering. Like a grudge, or resentment." Her eyes flicked over to Link. "Or heartbreak."

Link felt his jaw tighten. "Is there any way back?"

Tetra shrugged. "Mako seems to think so. Bear in mind that we're only catching snippets of info from the Eye in the Sky. Ganondorf's shielded himself well."

"_Too _well now." Ideas tumbled in Link's head. He tried to grasp at them. "If we...if someone...could _resolve _Zelda's...problem..." He swallowed. "Would that bring her back?"

"Maybe."

Tetra let her answer stew in the silence that followed. The waterfalls provided a rhythmic throb in the background.

Gortram, silent with his thoughts until now, broke the hush. "What I don't get," he rumbled, "is why Ganondorf didn't just do away with her, you know? Seems a bit of a risk to keep her alive. Considerin' the threat she poses to him."

"I'm thinking that he can't," Tetra replied. "I think there's something - I don't know, _mystical? -_that's preventing him."

Saria noisily slurped up the last of her drink. "So he's just using her instead? Nice."

After another moment of silence the pirate woman fixed Saria with a long, thoughtful glance before looking at Gortram, then finally at Link. "Hey," she said softly. "It's not your fault."

"You won't convince him," Saria muttered under her breath.

Link kept his silence. There were no thoughts - just like he'd wanted - but there _were_ emotions. And these emotions didn't feel all that good.

Tetra spoke again. "Well, then. I did have one more minor, really trivial thing I also wanted to discuss."

"Oh?" said Gortram. "What's that?"

The pirate woman let the moment stretch. "The Sheikah," she said, her eyes sweeping back to Saria. "What do you guys know about them?"

Link brought himself back to the present. He ran Academy lessons through his head. "Dead," he said. "They're a dead race. Why?"

The corner of Tetra's lips twitched. "Almost dead. One or two families survived the Purge."

A quizzical look crossed Link's face. "How do you know that?"

"How do you think?"

"Tell me."

"It's obvious."

"Tell me anyway."

Tetra sighed. "I know," she said, "because I'm one of them."

"You?"

"Yes."

"One of the Sheikah?"

"Yeah."

"The Sheikah." Link looked at her, waiting, blue eyes fixed on her. He rested his palms on the table. The morning sun had already warmed the wood and so the flecks of spray from the falls were a welcome and cool relief.

"Well, thanks for asking," Tetra teased. "My family was one of those that escaped when the Gerudo came calling before the war. You know, when Princess Midna didn't lift a finger to help."

Link didn't know, truth be told, but he wasn't surprised. He had noticed a muscle twitching in Tetra's cheek as she'd talked. It had vanished now, a smile washing away the moment of darkness.

"I tell a lie," she continued. "I'm half-Sheikah."

"Half this, half that," Saria said. "When are you ever full anything?"

Tetra's face soured. "You know, I understand the individual words coming out of your mouth but not quite how they relate to your point."

Saria looked like she was resisting the urge to stick out her tongue.

"So," the pirate woman said icily. "Yeah. Daddy dearest had full on Sheikah blood. Mother didn't. She was Hylian." She paused. "Zelda's mother was a full Sheikah, though."

"So, Zelda's a Sheikah, then?" said Link, blinking. "How can we use this info? _Can_ we use this info?"

"We can't, no" the pirate captain replied. "I just thought you'd like to know. Since you're so curious about her and all."

Link accepted this. "Alright," he said. "Thanks, I suppose. You said there were other survivors...?"

"One or two, yes," she said. She seemed to be picking her words carefully now. "Maybe more. Some we knew of. Some we didn't." Tetra turned her head slightly, her eyes funnelling in on Saria. "Isn't that right, girl?"

Saria sat stony-faced as Link blinked in surprise. Before he could even ask, Gonzo appeared with a tray of drinks. "Miss Tetra," he said. "Refreshments, yeah?"

"Thanks, Gonzo," she said. As he set the frosted glasses sloshing with clear liquid down on the table, Tetra winked. "You can see I've got them well-trained."

Link waited for the pirate to depart before turning to the young girl. "Saria...?"

"It's true," she sniffed. "We used to live in the Badlands on the edge of Hyrule."

"We?"

"My mother and me," she said. "Just me now."

Gortram cleared his throat. "I can vouch for that. That's where I found the sprog. In the Badlands. Her momma was dying. Terrible, horrible sight. She made me promise." His voice hitched. "I just..._had _to. Had to agree. To help. Snag?"

A haunted shadow fell over Saria's face. "It was a game to them," she whispered. "The way they'd hunt us down." She turned her blinking eyes onto Tetra. "How'd _you_ know, anyhow? It was meant to be a secret. I don't remember any sort of Sheikah detecting powers we shared or anything."

"I had Spryte scan you," Tetra replied. She ran a finger around the inside rim of her glass. "All of you, in fact. Spryte's the only fairy who can track Sheikah biometrics."

Link absorbed all of this in silence. His friends had a right to their privacy, of course. But was there something else he should be aware of? Something about the Sheikah that could help Zelda?

Tetra gave him a nudge. She winked. "I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that you don't really know your mates at all. And, to think, you consider _me _to be the untrustworthy one. Wow."

"I don't," he said. "And I wasn't."

"Oh, you don't, huh?" she replied, taking a sip from her drink. "So why have you reneged on our deal over the Triforce piece? If you can't trust me, then you've gotta know now that you can't trust your friends here, either."

Link smiled. "No, Captain Tetra. I'm just waiting."

"For?"

He glanced over at Gortram and Saria, then looked back at the pirate woman. "I'm waiting to see if you're just like them."

"What?" Tetra scoffed. "If I'm hiding stuff? Got secrets? That sort of thing? Hel-_lo, _I'm a pirate."

"No," Link replied calmly. "I'm waiting to see if you're just as _good _as them."

Tetra fell silent, her eyes narrowed to slits. Link didn't have to look in their direction to know that Gortram and Saria were smiling just right now. Tetra opened her mouth to speak -

She never got the chance.

The flash of searing blue was their only warning. A shockwave followed, rattling through _The Waking Wind _in a split second_. _The glasses sat upon the table shattered. A warp gate opened.

The Gerudo ship that suddenly appeared before them was huge, a beast of a vessel, far larger than the _Skystalker_, far larger than most ships they would ever encounter. Black and gold cannons the size of tugboats bristled, training their sights on _The Waking Wind._

"What?!" Captain Tetra cried, standing bolt upright. Her chair clattered to the deck. "How did this happen? Where was the Proximity Alert? Where?"

She managed to compose herself as they all spun away from the table. Gonzo ran up to her. "Miss Tetra...!"

"Battlestations," she bellowed. "_Battlestations!" _She tracked the Gerudo cannons. They were beginning to glow, the air around them distorted. Her eyes widened a fraction - then narrowed instantly. She knew exactly what she had to do. "Spryte. InitiateEmergency Protocol_ X-T-Nine."_

Panic thrummed through each and every one of them. The other pirates rushed around, barking out curses and oaths. Link found his head swimming, felt his heart jabbering painfully in his chest. Everything was happening too fast. _Too fast._

He turned to the other ship. A flash of dark violet energy housed in metal caught his eye. He froze.

_Dragmire!_

Link shifted his eyes fully in that direction. The Gerudo chief was indeed standing at the immense battleship's bow, one hand on his hip, one foot perched upon a wooden crate. And he wasn't alone.

Link's heart squeezed.

_Zelda._

Flames erupted as the Gerudo ship's cannons roared. Scorching heat washed over the deck of the pirate ship. The single sail caught with a _whoomph. _Wood shattered. Engines screamed.

The entirety of _The Waking Wind _exploded in a cloud of fiery splinters.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

She was the Ship of the Line of the Grand Gerudo Navy and, as such, there were certain things that were expected, certain conceits that she simply _had _to have. A ship that size had to have a name that reflected not only her own glory but the glory of he who owned her, too. The_ Skullkrusher_ fit that bill perfectly. Hyperbole tended to be a Gerudo trait, after all.

A ship that size also had to be imposing: the quadruple engines and the immense battery of cannons helped, but amazingly enough it was the _Skullkrusher's _figurehead - triple dragons plated in gold with silver skulls laying shattered between each serpent's jaws - that made it truly stand out. And finally, a ship that size, much like the _Skystalker, _had a reputation to uphold. Multiple kills to its name. Reports of encounters that left no known survivors. Which meant only one thing: _The Waking Wind _hadn't stood a chance.

Ganondorf Dragmire watched the disintegration of the pirate ship with cold, copper eyes. The echo of the explosion was fading away now, replaced by the ever-present roar of the Zora waterfalls. A mushroom cloud marked the ship's last location, and fireballs sped away from there now, blazing through the air toward a high ridge of trees that sat opposite the Zora falls.

The Aveil watched, too, the flaming trails reflected in the polished purple tint of her steel mask. She felt compelled to speak. "Are they...are they all being dead?"

"_I should think so, my dear,_" Ganondorf's rattling voice replied. He turned away. His eyes set upon the fleeing mining ship instead, the gap between the two ships growing by the minute. Her desperate efforts caused the Gerudo to smirk. "_What shall we do with you, then? You cannot escape. The Triforce of Courage you hold shall be mine."_

The Aveil still hadn't turned away from the sight of the destruction. "What if one of them was holding on to it?" she said. "You were neglecting to bring the _Skystalker's _tracking tech with us. The Triforce piece may be being destroyed now."

Irritation flitted across the Gerudo chief's face. "_Well, if that is the case, then you can go down there and search their remains yourself. Bring back a souvenir while you're at it._"

Now she did turn to him. "Why would I be bothering? I have told you before that I would be happy to be ridding you of it. That, and Wisdom piece you are holding onto so tightly. Isn't it better off that both are gone if you fear the Twilight Princess will be finding a way to be using them?"

"_I fear nothing!" _Ganondorf raised a shaking fist. "_You pester me with this point time and again, and I am compelled to give you the same reply each and every time: _

_"This war is a sad necessity, but it is too costly. Far. Too. Costly. I can use the Triforce, harness it - once I have the other two pieces - to fuel my grand effort."_

"And?"

"_And also to provide for my people, of course._"

"It is being strange that this concerns you only now."

He turned slightly in the Aveil's direction._ "It was a lack of foresight to allow the princess to have the Triforce of Power in the first place. I seek to rectify that now." _A crease folded his brow as he pondered._ "And at what point exactly did you decide to start questioning my decisions? Need I remind you of the fate of your predecessor Nabooru?" _

She offered no reply to this. Satisfied, Ganondorf turned back to the chase. The mining ship was a dark shadow now, framed in the glare of the mid-morning sun.

"_Whisp," _he said as that self-same sun reflected sharply off of his Darkhide armour._ "Are you certain she can't go into warp?"_

A fairy glowing with purple dark energy hovered into view. She wasn't an ordinary specimen of her race. no; in fact 'ordinary' would be the last word any sane person would use to describe Whisp. An oversized bare skill represented her head and her eyes burned with blue fire within it. "Yesz, Maszter," she buzzed. "The _Skullkrusher's _interdiction tech hasz szeen to that."

A smile spread lazily over the Gerudo's features. "_Excellent." _He held out a palm. "_Scope._"

A snorting moblin minion shuffled up to him and placed a tan coloured telescope into his hand before backing off in haste.

"_Now,_" Ganondorf said, his voice hungry as he placed the scope to his eye. "_Let's bide our time before we disable her. I want to see the fairy's face up close. I want to see the whites of her eyes expand in fear. I want to taste that terror, see the realisation of her own fate blossom over -"_

He looked up abruptly from the scope, looked back again, looked away aghast, then looked back one last time.

"Maszter?" Whisp said after a moment's pause. "Isz anything the matter...?"

Ganondorf Dragmire seemed momentarily lost for words. "_That fairy," _he said._ "She...she just made an obscene gesture at me with her hands!_" Anger flooded into his face. "_Stalk her! I want to tear her wings off personally for this! Her filthy hands, too!"_

A blue spiral burst open in front of the mining ship's bow. All aboard the _Skullkrusher _flinched. Shocked, the Aveil stretched her eyes, the enhanced vision her mask gave her funnelling in on the other vessel. She could just make out the shape of a tiny figure waving - and then the mining ship was gone, swallowed by the warp gate.

Silence fell over the _Skullkrusher's _deck. Her multiple sails flapped gently under the faint spray of the nearby falls. None of the moblins dared look in Ganondorf's direction. Whisp looked as stunned as a floating skull possibly could. It was her, though, that would bear the brunt.

Dragmire's lips twitched. "_Explain._"

Agitation rippled over Whisp's skeletal face. "I...I cannot...I apologisze, Maszter. I've never szeen anything like it. No fairy should be able to break interdiction tech. No one ever hasz. I ask humbly for your forgivenessz."

Burning copper eyes glared. "_Can you at least trace her?"_

"I - I'm certain I can. It will take a few minutes but -"

"_Do it._"

As the fairy went to work, the Aveil slowly turned back to the pirate ship's remains. A grey cloud still hung there, slowly fading in the wind. If a featureless mask had the opportunity to look wistful then the Aveil's would have just right then.

...

Link was on fire.

Or, to be more specific, he was in wrapped in the centre of a fiery ball. Flames encompassed him but strangely - and to his relief - not a single one scorched even a single hair on his skin. He'd be happy about that if he wasn't, at that moment, almost paralysed with terror.

It was these self-same flames that were keeping him up, a realisation that wasn't all that comforting. Fire was his only barrier from plummeting straight to the ground. _Fire. _This wasn't like when he was dangling from the _Maximus _by his hookshot. At least, he had had a modicum of control then. Here, he'd never felt more helpless. Or more fragile.

The fireball's current trajectory also concerned him - it cut through the air in a heated arc, making a direct line for a canopy of trees. Faster it sped, faster and faster. Burnt air, acrid and tang, wrinkled his nose. Fire rippled around him and spat in his ears.

Out of the corner of his eye, through the flicker of orange and red, he caught the sight of _The Righteous Maximus _ as she escaped through a warp gate.

"Good for you, Nav." He had to say it out loud. He needed to hear something sane in the bizarreness that now engulfed him. His eyes widened. The tree line was growing larger and larger, juddering at all angles in his sight. Rough flight, this certainly was.

The only thing now separating him and death by branch were all these flames all around, and _they _should have reduced him to a cinder in the first place.

He yelled as the fireball hit. His heart hammered so hard he thought it might burst right there and then. Branches and leaves whipped across his eyes, then blackened and dropped to ash instantly as the fire swallowed them whole. Link grunted as he was rocked violently from side to side. The fireball careened off a tree trunk, sending his whole vision spinning, then cracked sharply against another, fragments of blackened bark flying away as result. A jolt ran up his spine.

The ground loomed up unsteadily in his widening eyes. Closer and closer it came. Link saw forest animals flee in alarm. Adrenaline fuelled fear soared in his veins.

The fireball struck. A gout of earth sprayed into the air as it ploughed its way further along the ground. The flames instantly went out. So did whatever had been protecting him until then. The forward motion sent Link tumbling awkwardly into the hard ground.

He reached out, trying to slow himself down, but nothing met his fingers except more dirt. The fleshy part of his back hit a boulder, more pain ran up his side, and he flipped inelegantly into the air before hitting the earth again, his scabbard jabbing into his back, and coming finally to a stop. He lay there for a moment, back throbbing, his body quite literally bruised and battered. Clouds drifted lazily overhead in a brilliant blue sky. Then, slowly, he sat up, panting, his hands draped over his knees drawn in toward his chest.

A violent shiver suddenly ran down the entire length of his body. For a moment, he forgot all about Zelda, all about his mistakes, his fears and loathing, he forgot all about _himself_ and let himself drown in a sea of gratitude at being alive. He clung to that feeling and, as he did so, he began to feel some of the darkness in his heart momentarily subside. He clung to it because, after all, who knew how long it would last...? Maybe it was this feeling that Rauru had meant when he'd advised Link to know without thinking.

Link took another moment to orientate himself. He ran a quick mental diagnostic on himself. Bruises and cuts, yes, but no broken bones. He flicked open the leather pouches on his belt. Triforce of Courage? _Check. _Hookshot bracelet? _Check._

The world still swam in his vision. He squinted. Was it just him or was everything around here glowing slightly...?

Twigs snapped overhead. Fire hissed and spat. Link looked up, broken out of his thoughts, just in time to see a whole phalanx of similar fireballs crashing into the forest. Each and every one of them tore into the ground, flames vanishing as the living shapes within became apparent. They slowly rolled to a halt in the clearing, and Link soon found himself surrounded by the groaning forms of the Tech-Pirates and his friends. It was Captain Tetra who first raised her head.

"Ow," she moaned, her palm pressed against her brow. "Ow. Ow. _Ow._"

Link stood up. slowly at first, then, when his footing was sure, with more confidence. "Captain Tetra...?"

"Can't. Speak. Pain."

"Are you hurt?" Link pressed. The detritus of the forest hissed under his boot. Somewhere in the back of his mind he noted that there was an odd sound to it. "What's wrong? I can help."

Tetra waved him away. "Just scratches. I'll be fine."

He looked around the clearing. "Anyone else?"

"What are _you_, then, matey," said Senza, brushing scree away from his clothes. "A doctor?"

"As a matter of fact..." Link half-shrugged, a gesture of sheepish acknowledgement. "Left my gear on my ship, though."

Tetra spoke again. "Agh. We should've just stayed with Ruto and those noblewomen back at our safehouse in Castle City. We were too open over those waterfalls, far too open. Idiot mistake." She blinked dirt away from her eyes. "That was Dragmire's ship. I can't believe he snuck up on us like that. He's got stealth tech. He must have." Glumness hung from her face. "The swine."

"The blue blazes is this place?" It was Gortram, looking around the clearing in awe as he sat flat on his rear.

They all joined him in looking. Link realised that the earlier glow he'd spied hadn't been a trick of his pain-riddled mind after all. Pulsing indigo energy lined each branch, rock and leaf in the grove. Tree trunks were mapped with the same circuit-like pattern, all bathed in that throbbing radiance. A squirrel scampered into view. Its bushy tail had been stamped with circles of energy, its eyes twin tunnels of pure purple glow.

"Someone's been busy," said Link, cautiously stepping forward. Another twig snapped with a buzz under his boots. In the distance he could still pick up the dull rumble of the Zora waterfalls. "Captain Tetra. Didn't your Eye in the Sky ever pick this up?"

She shook her head."We don't have time or the inclination to track _everything_, you know."

"Hey." It was Saria. "Hello. This is all simply swizz and all that, and I know you guys just _love _a mystery, but I personally just want to know one tiny little thing: _What happened?_" She let the question echo around the clearing. "How the heck are we still alive?"

"Emergency Protocol X-T-Nine," the pirate captain explained. "A neat, experimental and very _secret_ piece of tech."

"Yet you happen to have it," said Link.

Tetra smiled. "I never expected to use it. Last resort sort of thing."

Link eyed her patiently. "What does it do?"

Tetra gestured all around. "You can't tell?"

"Alright,_" _he replied. "It saved us. Excellent. _How_ is what I'm after, yeah?"

Some animal howled mournfully in the distance. Tetra ignored it. "When the ship is in mortal danger, all energy is diverted to providing temporary shielding for each and every non-fairy living thing aboard."

"Non-fairy?" Link prodded. "So Spryte is -"

"Gone." Tetra's voice was flat. Leaves rustled overhead. "Yes. She had to stay aboard to activate and maintain the tech. To make sure all energy was diverted in that very last moment."

Link didn't say anything to this. He didn't think anything he had to say would help. Saria, though, didn't share the same philosophy.

"Gosh," she said. "I'm sorry."

Tetra responded only with a thin smile. "So," she said, changing tack. "Nothing like a brush with death right after breakfast, is there?" Her smile widened. "We all here? Roll call, people. Gonzo?"

"At your service, Miss Tetra."

"Senza?"

"Check."

"Nudge?"

"Aye."

"Mako? Zuko? Niko?"

As all three made their acknowledgements, Link strode over to Gortram and helped pull him to his feet. "You good, boss?"

"I'm fine," the Goron replied. "Saria?"

She'd already made her way over to them. She nodded in greeting.

"Alright, people," Tetra called, slapping her palms together. The sound echoed through the forest. "Let's get moving, shall we?"

"No," said Link. All eyes turned his way.

Tetra blinked. "No?"

"I say we stay right here," he explained. "Navi'll come back for us."

Gortram placed a gentle hand on Link's shoulder. "Navi thinks we're dead, son."

Link shook his head. "She's a clever girl. She'll figure it out."

"Not unless we can get in touch with her," the Goron replied. He glanced over at Tetra. "Can we?"

"Not without a com," the pirate woman replied. "And I mislaid mine in the chaos. Sorry."

"I've got mine," said Gortram, his fingers brushing his lapel. "But if she's warped then she'll be out of range now."

Link wouldn't budge. "I still say we wait. Navi will find a way."

"Excuse me," said Tetra. "I am the captain here. I decide."

He threw her a cool look. "Gortram's a captain, too."

Tetra snorted. "Yeah. Of a mining ship. May as well be in charge of a paddle boat." She glanced over at the Goron. "No offence."

Captain Gortram's face twitched slightly, but remained blank and impassive in reply.

"Nonetheless," said Link. "I still say we wait."

Tetra shook her head, eyes rolling. "Look around you, Link of the Kokiri Settlement," she said. "Does this really look like a safe place to be? With all this...dark energy?" She flicked at a nearby tree. It crackled in response.

Link did as she said - looked around. He chewed the inside of his cheek. "I don't see any immediate threat."

Tetra pressed her lips into a thin line. "Army boy."

One of the smaller pirates noisily cleared his throat. Tetra looked over in his direction, one eyebrow arched. "Mako? You got something to say?"

"Ah. Yes." He flicked dirt from his overly large round glasses. "Um. Begging your pardon for being so forward, but maybe we could wait here a day, Miss Tetra...? And then if the young fairy lady doesn't turn up, we could be on our way...?"

"Excellent," said Link, before anyone else could reply. "It's settled, then."

Tetra glared at him. "Fine."

"Um," said Saria. "Out of curiosity, where exactly would we go?"

The pirate woman shrugged. "Away from here. Out of this forest. I don't know. Maybe we could get in touch with Prince Ralis." She shrugged again. "Anyhow, looks like we're making camp here later tonight." Something glittered in her eyes. "Want to help find some food, kid?"

Her voice was pregnant with implication. Saria got the hint. "Sure."

Tetra turned her attention to her crew. "And I don't want to see you swabbies lazing about, either. Get this clearing into ship-shape condition. Like I said, we bed here tonight, and I don't want anything nasty bugging me while I sleep. Might still be morning now, but I'd rather we be prepared. You're in charge, Gonzo."

The big pirate nodded. "Aye aye, Miss Tetra."

"I'm taking the girl to forage for something to eat." She looked over at Gortram. "If that's alright with you?"

"Just don't go too far," he grumbled.

Tetra saluted, her teeth shining as she smiled. "Yes, Daddy." She clicked her tongue at Saria. "Let's jog on."

Link watched the young girl trot over to the pirate. He spoke under his breath. "You sure?"

The captain of the _Maximus _nodded. "Sheikah don't harm their own."

Link looked up at his friend, held his gaze for a heartbeat, then turned back and called out, "Captain Tetra."

She stopped in her tracks and turned around. "_What?_"

Link let the moment linger. An insect buzzed in the gap. "Thanks," he said finally. "For saving us."

"You what? I was just saving myself," she said. A smile ghosted over her lips. "You lot were just in the way."

Link grinned. "_Right._"

The pirate captain winked, then turned and headed deeper into the undergrowth. Saria trailed behind her.

"Reminds me of home," Link said softly. "Minus the light show, of course." He watched as a grunting Niko, his face strained red, tried to pull a fallen tree trunk out of the way. A stone had caught under it, and the little pirate hadn't noticed. Link turned his regard back to his captain. "You seem to have a bit of know-how regarding the Sheikah."

"'Bit' is the key word, lad." Gortram's voice was soft and low.

"Not like your passing interest in the Gerudo, then?"

"It's good to stay informed, lad. These Tech-Pirates know all about that."

Link smiled. "You sound less like them and more like Saria. You sure you've not got a copy _The Whistleblower's Guide to the Races of Hyrule _stashed away somewhere?"

"Ha!" The Goron grinned. "Nah. I prefer things a bit more hands-on, lad."

"Okay," said Link. "The Sheikah, then."

"I encountered some in the Badlands. That's all there is too it, snag?" His voice dropped an octave. "They were all but dead then."

"How'd you end up there?" Link gently prodded. "The Badlands, I mean."

The Goron seemed reluctant to answer. "It wasn't a good time in my life."

"Not the best place for a time out, hey? You get criminals going there on the run."

Link had only meant the words as a joke, but the shadow that flitted over his captain's eyes made him instantly regret them.

"Like I said," Captain Gortram explained slowly. "Bad day. Needed to prove to myself that I could do a bit of good. And when I stumbled across Saria and her momma...well, how could I resist, snag?"

His friend said no more, and Link didn't want to push him. Instead, he watched as Niko continued his losing battle with the rebellious tree trunk. With a smile, Link rubbed his still-aching back, then made his way over and surreptitiously kicked the stone away when Niko was too distracted with his own exertions. The trunk slid easily.

Niko blinked in surprise. Link winked at him. "Good job."

The small pirate flushed with pleasure. "Thanks."

Gortram caught up a moment later. "You know, lad, I was thinking."

"Yeah?" said Link.

"If that pirate woman is right, then, for whatever reason, Ganondorf can't kill your Zelda."

"So Tetra says."

"Or she's guessing," Gortram replied. "I mean, if he really can't kill her, why doesn't he just get someone else to do her in for him?"

Link ran the implications of that in his head. "So you're saying he's using her...because he can?"

The Goron shrugged. "It'd be the kind of thing he'd be into. To amuse himself, like. Just a thought, mind."

It was, and Link held on to it for a very long time.

...

Tetra crouched beside a bush, a berry-laden limb wet with dew nestling in her palm. Saria stood at a distance, watching and waiting. The pirate woman looked over at her.

"Do you know which ones are poisonous? And which aren't?"

"Nope."

"Never got that sort of Sheikah training, I guess."

"Nope." After a pause Saria added, "We were too busy running for our lives, y'know?"

Tetra nodded. She stood. "Well, these berries aren't the type we eat anyway."

Saria, finally taking an interest, peered down at the bush. "I don't really like the way they're glowing."

"No," said Tetra, smiling. "Me neither."

"I think everything we find here is going to be like that. Glowing."

"I think you're right." She began to walk off. "So. How are you feeling? Afraid? You don't show it."

"No, actually," said Saria, trotting after her. "I like it here, I think. Well, not _like _exactly. It's when there's lots of people. Too many people. That's when I get spooked, y'know?"

"Ah." She kicked a clod of earth out of their path. Dark energy sprinkled out in front of her like an exploding star. "Bad memories?"

"Something like that, yeah."

Tetra didn't press her for more. Saria hadn't finished yet, though.

"Um," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Did you know my family?"

Sadness flickered over the pirate woman's face. "No. Sorry." Her eyes continued to search for something more edible. "But I'm thinking. We should stick together, you and I. What do you say?"

Saria smiled. "Are you going to teach me some spooky Sheikah stuff?"

Tetra grinned in reply. "I'll try."

The younger girl shrugged. "Then I'm game." She waited a moment before adding, "But I think you're sad, too, y'know? You're hiding it as well. It's in your eyes."

"Hardly," said Tetra. "Got over my folks a long time ago, girl."

"Not that." Saria's voice was soft. "You're sad because you've lost your ship and your fairy. _And_ your Eye in the Sky thingy. I think they were important to you." A miniscule shrug touched one shoulder. "Just sayin."

Tetra blinked in surprise. She opened her mouth to reply, not entirely sure what she was going to say.

A twig snapped. Tetra came to a halt. Her mouth slapped shut. She held up a hand. Her other hand fell to the crossbow hanging from her belt. Saria froze.

They could hear the distant thunder of the waterfalls. A bird hooted.

Something rustled in a bush.

"If there's anyone out there," Tetra called, her eyes narrowing. "Show yourself now."

Another rustle followed. They held themselves still. Tetra felt tension coil in her every muscle.

Something moved.

Tetra's hand flew up, crossbow in hand, finger on the trigger.

And then stopped as a snake slowly slithered into view, its stripes aglow with dark energy.

Saria let out a breath. Tetra relaxed, her crossbow arm dropping. She looked over at the younger girl, hoping to smile some reassurance to her. And that's when they heard the second twig snap.

This time Tetra wasn't quick enough. A group of Zora dropped from the trees above in a grey blur. They landed in a crouch, then slowly drew themselves upright. The blue-skinned creatures bore primitive spears of wood, twine and steel. Their fins expanded and contracted with their every breath. These were like no Zora Tetra had ever seen before. That point was punctuated further by the dead, empty sheen to their eyes.

Tetra threw out a protecting arm in front of Saria. "Slowly now," she whispered through clenched teeth. "Let's get back to the others."

"What's wrong with them?" Saria hissed.

"I don't know," Tetra replied. She watched as the Zora made their ponderous approach. One jabbed a spear in their direction. Tetra kept pushing backward, taking Saria with her. "I don't think they're right in their collective heads."

"Zombies?"

"Something like that."

They cautiously backed off. Tetra kept her eyes fixed on their slowly pursuing foes. Her head snapped to the right at the sound of more shivering foliage. Another Zora slowly rose from the green and purple undergrowth. Then another. And yet more. Tetra felt a tight lump in her throat.

A slow tide of grey and blue tracked them all the way back to the clearing. They didn't find much relief there, either. Their friends were in the same sticky bind - surrounded.

Tetra's crew had formed a circle, back to back in most places, and those with a sword or a knife brandished them with menace. Link and Gortram stood at their side, the younger man's sword humming softly in his hand.

"Miss Tetra!" Gonzo gasped as he saw them approach.

"Glad you could make it, Captain," Senza added, his voice tight.

"Miss Tetra," Gonzo went on. "Bit of a problem, yeah?"

"Honestly," Tetra spat, trying to keep the tremble of fear from her voice. "I leave you in charge for _one_ minute and what happens? You go and screw it all up."

"Saria!" said Link, darting a glance their way.

"You're safe!" barked Gortram. "Over here, sprog!"

Saria didn't need telling twice. She slid in behind her two friends as Tetra took up a position beside Link.

"You've got a plan, right?" the pirate woman said.

Link's eyes tracked the slow movements of the Zora now hemming them in on all sides. "Yes."

"Good," Tetra replied. She swallowed the sour taste from her tongue. "Care to share?"

"No."

"It's that bad?"

"Probably."

A heartbeat passed. "Are you, in fact, making it up as we go along?"

"_No._" Link's affront quickly wilted. "Well, yeah."

"_SILENCE!" _

Branches shivered in chorus as birds set flight in sheer panic. The new voice halted everyone in their tracks, hunter and prey alike. The horde directly in front of them peeled apart, revealing a huge throne borne on the shoulders of four straining Zora. Atop the black chair, swaying from side to side, there sat a cloaked figure with eyes lined with the glow of dark energy.

He held up a hand to call his procession to a halt. The Zora set the throne down onto the ground. Link and his companions waited as the newcomer eyed them with cold dispassion.

"I am perturbed," the man said at last. "What is this I spy? Trespassers on my land. Trespassers stumbling onto my little secret. An accident? I say to thee nay!"

"My name is Captain Tetra," the pirate woman called as she stepped confidently forward. "And these are my friends." She indicated with her head. "Our ship was destroyed. We didn't mean to land here."

The mysterious newcomer ignored her. "Trespassing. Say it. Mince not your weasely words. Have you no gumption? Are none of you _man_ enough to admit it?"

"It wasn't our intention to trespass," Link said. "Accept our apologies and we'll be on our way."

"Penalty, penalty, not without paying a penalty," the cloaked figure replied. "What tribute shall I extract? Ah ha." He pointed at Tetra. "I will seize the exquisite young lady. For the rest of you miscreants: A ten minute head start. And then I let loose my Zora. Tarry not, I say."

"You what?" cried Tetra. "You want my fist to meet your face, you say? I'll be happy to oblige."

Laughter flew from the cloaked man. "Oh, I _do_ like it when they get all feisty. All that _energy _from such a delicate flower."

"Delicate?" Tetra's eyes narrowed. "Now you're just taking the -"

"_Perhaps_ I should just reconsider my terms, hmm?"

Link held his ground so hard he could feel his boots sink into the earth. Hard determination sang in his every vein. He wasn't going to let history repeat itself here. He'd failed Zelda. He wouldn't her sister.

"Why do you want her?" he asked, his voice carefully level. "For what point and purpose?"

"Nothing sordid, I assure you," the mystery man replied. "I wonder - shall I reveal myself to these barbarians? My grand discovery, should it be given an audience? This little part of the forest is the result, of course. These Zora, too. Strange the effect dark energy has on their minds."

"The point," said Tetra. "Get to it."

"Ha! I like, I _like."_ He chortled. "Here. A bone for you. The tech in our world, it draws on the substance known as Zayronite, yes? Well, what would you say if I unveiled to you now a new truth. That I myself had discovered another way to procure the energy that we so greedily crave. Another source. True, it is but merely dark energy alone at the moment, but you must forgive a work whilst it is very much in progress.

"With this source, the world will soon know my name. Ganondorf? Midna? Nay, soon they will call _me_ king."

Link didn't look impressed. "We're still none the wiser."

"And my ears hurt," Saria whispered.

"The hearts of young women," the cloaked figure said. "I have discovered a way to draw energy from the very hearts of young woman."

"Right," said Link.

"Do my ears deceive me? Was that doubt I just heard? Perhaps, merely a smidgen? I am besmirched!" He spread his arms wide to indicate the whole forest. "How, then, did I achieve all this? Hmm? Impressed now, are we? Shame that one's too young." He indicated Saria with his hand. "But I'll take what's offered."

Link's sword hummed louder as he brought it to bear. "No one is being offered."

"Be a _man_," the stranger snarled, "And use your brain."

"Be a man," Link retorted. "And fight me for her."

Tetra rolled her eyes. "Oh, _please._"

"No," Gonzo chipped in. "Let me. I'll fight for Miss Tetra, yeah?"

"Ex_cuse_ me," said Tetra. "No one's going to fight for me except _me._"

The cloaked stranger chuckled. "Now this _is _sport. Fine, then. A contest, shall we say. No need for fists. Two on one. Let's see what the lady has to offer. Her and, ah, _you_ -" he pointed a long finger at Link - "can assist."

Gonzo's face darkened in displeasure. Tetra's barely looked any better. Link, on the other hand, clenched his free hand into a fist and smiled. "Excellent!"

"Indeed," the dark figure replied. "Your approval pleases me greatly. " Faint humour laced his words. "The two of you up against a real man like me. Ha! Oh, what is that? You have something else you wish to petition me for? I have not introduced myself, you say? How remiss. Positively uncivil."

His words held the hint of a sly smile. "Ghirahim." He stood, and his cloak billowed out from behind him. "Yes. Ghirahim; revered be my name."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

He was fourteen years old and he was utterly petrified.

"Um..."

Link winced inwardly. That wasn't how he'd wanted to start. He'd pictured himself for days striding up here, exuding ice-cold serenity, then charming everyone with a wit and wisdom that set the bar so high that jaws would naturally drop in awe in response and his back would be the recipient of some hearty slaps afterward.

'Ice man' they'd call him in reference to his flawless performance. Or just simply _'the _man'. He wasn't too fussed either way. Link didn't dare entertain the hope too much, but he thought that he might even make some new friends.

Fat chance of that now.

Instead, Link stood alone on the stage, the eyes of his fellow classmates burning into him. One trembling hand clutched a sheaf of papers. _Pivotal Points in the History of the Kokiri Settlement_ flashed across the first page in black ink. He'd done his research. The knowledge wasn't the problem. It was the whole thing of him getting up there and delivering it for this school project.

The silence was punctured now and then by someone coughing softly. He looked up. Eyes. So many eyes. All honed in on him. He spied Zelda in the front row, both her fists clenched as her eyes egged him on. He felt something stir in his heart at that, but it didn't get very far.

True, his confidence had grown inch-by-inch in the years of his friendship with Zelda. Even his Mama had noticed. It was times like this, though, when he felt totally out of his depth, that he felt himself slipping back into old ways. Not just old ways, but his old, sick self as well. The back of his throat began to tickle. Sweat tricked down his back. His eyes watered.

"Uh, sorry," he said, sniffing as he wiped away the moisture. _Wise and witty. _"Um. Yeah. Just get emotional when talking about us Kokiri, that's all. Heh."

This was met with a random pocket of scattered tittering. He knew instantly that it wasn't because his weak joke had amused them. His cheeks burned. He tried to stop them. It only made it worse.

"Go ahead, Link," Mrs Marie's soft voice prodded. His history teacher waited patiently at the side of the room. "We're all friends here."

Someone sniggered. Link felt it like a cold twist of a knife to his heart. He caught Mrs Marie's eye and she nodded in encouragement. Next he saw Zelda: _Go on, _she mouthed.

Link cleared his throat and raised the papers to his eyes. It was now or never.

The words tumbled from his lips as though they were poisoned and he couldn't wait to be rid of them. He sped through each page, palms clammy, eyes barely lifting from the sheet, thumping heart washed away in a sea of anxiety and panic, his voice cracking and, on occasion, embarrassingly dropping to a squeak and then, finally, there! It was done.

"Thank you," he breathed, then quickly made his exit, his ears ringing with the sound of hollow applause. Link caught sight of Mrs Marie as he swept past her. She offered him a tight smile but her eyes told a completely different story. Link wanted to find a rock to go crawl under.

Day's end eventually came and the double doors of the school opened out onto a hot summer's day, releasing a tide of eager and relieved students who abruptly spilled down some faded stone steps and into the street.

"This book is being excellent!" Zelda cried as she trotted down the steps at a more deliberate pace. Link dragged his feet after her. His eyes wouldn't leave the ground. The one time he did, he saw Zelda push her glasses further up her nose. Link scowled as he shifted the weight of his tattered satchel hanging from his shoulder. She didn't need the things and, usually, he wouldn't have been bothered, but today he just found it irritating. He was finding _everything _irritating.

Zelda, oblivious to his distress, gazed down at her book, the spine resting in the palm of her hand. "Do you think Mrs Marie will be letting me use it for my project?"

"Yeah," Link replied, distracted. They reached the bottom of the steps, turned into the street, and joined the sea of their fellow students as they made their way home. Laughter and gossip were the order of the day now.

"I hope so," said Zelda. "Then I think I will finally be acing one of her classes. Ha!" She shook her head absently at the prospect. "Hey, do you want to go get something to be eating? I just need to be popping into town first. There is this _amazing_ rose perfume that I want to be buying as a gift for my mother. Do you want to be tagging along?"

"I suppose."

She cast him a sideways glance. "What is being wrong?"

"I screwed it up," he said glumly. "The presentation. I'll be lucky to get a D."

She gazed at him with those blue eyes of hers. A part of him hoped that his pathetic state would trigger an outpouring of honeyed sympathy from his friend that would soothe all his wounds within.

"Nope," she replied instead, snapping her book shut. "You were learning."

Link rolled his eyes. "Oh, what? Learned what?"

"That no matter what you are feeling inside, you must be remaining calm and in control. Yes? Calm and in control."

Her words chafed. "You're joking. No one can do that. Not all the time."

"Have you been trying?" she replied tartly. They turned into a side-street, finally breaking away from their fellow students. It was more scenic here with banks of brightly coloured flowers running parallel to the paved walkway. "Maybe if you didn't be spending all your time watching pictovids you'd be being more in tune."

"In tune? Pictovids? _What?"_

"We are not being meant to be slaves to our emotions. Like in those silly drama vids. This is what I am saying."

Link scoffed at that. "So we don't feel? At all? Is that it?"

"We _do_. But we are riding our emotions. They are not riding us." Her eyes seemed to turn inward in contemplation. "Most of them, at least."

He kicked at a flower nearby. "No way," Link replied, tiring of the lecture. He hated it when she got like this, which see seemed to be doing more regularly as they got older.

"It is being taking practice."

"You're the one who's been watching too many vids, Zelda. The ones with the guy and a sword fighting dragons and all that without feeling scared or even getting a scratch." He shook his head in disbelief. "Those aren't real, you know?"

"You are not being your emotions, Link," she insisted. "You are being your actions."

Link looked befuddled. "What?"

"Let me be giving you an example. You are seeing someone in need, and you feel sorry for them, but you are doing nothing. The feeling is not was is being counted, yes? If you help them, then _that_ is what counts."

"But you just said we shouldn't act on our feelings."

"_No._ What if you are being so angry you want to hurt someone? Then you don't act."

"I give up."

She skipped into an impromptu little jig, pirouetting all the around as she walked. "You are being in control so you can pick and choose how to act." She sighed. "You are not understanding."

"No, I'm not." He hadn't a clue what any of this had to do with his performance earlier. He scowled. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Okay," she said softly.

They passed an arrangement of flowers set alternately in concentric circles and figures of eight. The flowers shifted as one from indigo to scarlet flecked with black to bright yellow to snowy white, and then, finally, to pale serene lavender. A tugboat softly putted overhead, sprinkling water from nozzles placed in its hull. They walked under it, the shade and the drizzle a relief from the summer's sun.

Zelda _had_ sensed her friend's distress. She'd just decided to wait a while to let his feelings settle.

"I was enjoying your little speech today," she said at last.

Link looked up at her. "Really?"

"Yes. I was learning a lot. Even though I have lived here so long now, there is still much I am not knowing about you funny Kokiri."

"Funny?"

"Yes." Her eyes twinkled. "Like the look on your face now. Funny."

Link's eyes narrowed. "Oh really? Let's see how funny _this _is!"

He snatched her book and began to run.

"Hey!" she laughed. "Come back!"

"No!" He grinned, feeling his sadness melt. "Uh oh. Looks like I'm heading towards the river. Can you guess what's going get dunked?" He waggled the book in his hand.

"Don't you be daring, Link of the Kokiri Settlement!" she shrieked as she set off in pursuit. "The only thing that is being dunked is _you!"_

"Promises, promises," he teased. "Only if you catch me first."

The dream unravelled.

_Catch me first..._

Consciousness flooded back.

_Catch me..._

When his eyes opened, Link found himself speaking without even thinking. "Catch me."

A tap at the door told him it was time to go. Ghirahim's village wasn't too far from the dark energy-drenched clearing and, despite all the tech that must have gone into the latter, was a more quaint affair of bamboo and reeds. Cabins and huts - much like the one Link bedded in now - stood on stilts over damp, fertile earth.

Link and his friends had been fed and allowed beds and water for the night. Now, as the knock on the door suggested, he and Tetra would have to face Ghirahim's 'contest.'

The fresh morning air drifted in through the opening in Link's room. The window had no glass. He could hear voices floating, mixed with a wet staccato beat of boots and even the sound of a saw cutting wood. It didn't take him long to get dressed and refreshed.

Outside the hut and in the open air he was surprised to see Gonzo and Senza already waiting. Two zombified Zora accompanied them. They'd all been separated since becoming Ghirahim's 'guests' - fed at different times and housed in different places.

Link approached the two pirates. Smoke from a cook fire curled through the air. A Zora banged at a metal pan that sat on a bed of leaping flames.

"Where's everyone else?" Link asked. "Are they alright?"

"Think so, matey," said Senza. "They're taking us down to some Grand Chamber or summat. For you and Captain Tetra's little appointment."

"Okay," Link said quietly. "That's good. Let's get it over and done with then."

"Hey," said Gonzo, surprisingly resting a hand on Link's shoulder. He looked up to see the earnestness swimming in the big man's eyes. "What you're doin' for Miss Tetra. Sayin' you'd fight for her."

Link blinked. "Yes?"

"It's...uh...it's..."

Senza filled in the gap. "Yeah," he said. "What my esteemed colleague is trying to say is that you're alright, matey. A good egg."

Gonzo nodded. "For someone who's not bound by Tech Pirate honour, that is."

"Tech Pirate honour," Link said, grinning at Gonzo. He shrugged against the cool morning air. "Right."

He wasn't the only one with a smile on his face. They were soon joined by the others, and Captain Tetra was positively beaming. Link didn't like it.

"I don't like it," Gortram grumbled.

"What?" asked Link.

"That look on her face."

"Yeah," Saria added. "She's up to something, y'know?"

Link smiled. "I was just thinking the same thing. Excuse me." He made his way carefully over the soft, peaty ground to join the pirate woman. "Spill the beans, hey?"

"Don't worry," she whispered with a wink. "It's been taken care of."

"What have you done?"

"I've _got_ this. Just keep Ghirahim talking. Don't ask."

Link wanted to worry.

_Calm. In control._

It was strange that that particular dream had come to him this past night. Out of all the principles he'd tried to adhere to, staying on top of emotions had been the one that he'd hoped he'd had a modicum of success in.

Well, okay, in battle maybe. And not all that very well recently. It was the sort of thing that was meant to come naturally to a soldier.

But only when he was facing something familiar. As the Zora led them down to the chamber, Link wondered what exactly this Ghirahim had in store for them.

...

The Aveil tapped a slow, hollow rhythm out on the glass table in her cabin on board the _Skullkrusher. _She'd decided to retire here briefly as the Gerudo's fruitless pursuit of the mining ship dragged on. Every time they found a trace on the ship, they locked on, warped, and found their prey. And as they did so, the fairy on the mining ship pushed instantly into warp again. The _Skullkrusher _followed, the pattern went on.

The Aveil wasn't as obsessive as Ganondorf Dragmire. She didn't really have _any_ interests actually. She just did what she thought was best for the Gerudo. As for this pursuit, well, truth be told, she was beginning to get a little bored with it all.

Her finger lifted and dropped, lifted and dropped. She'd changed the internal settings fn her cabin. Instead of the usual red she'd had back in the _Skystalker_, she'd decided instead to bathe the room in a cool green instead. It was refreshing, almost comforting. She hadn't a clue why. And at the moment she didn't really care. Something else was preoccupying her right now.

Her fingers danced on the hip of her smooth armour. A thin line of molten energy formed in response, running this way and that until the silhouette of a square had formed. She gave it a tap. A compartment slid open with a hiss. Reaching in the Aveil pulled free a glass bottle, stoppered with a rubber cork. A fairy buzzed angrily inside, her wings whispering violently against the inner glass.

The Aveil regarded it coldly for a moment, then pulled the stopped free with a pop. A trail of sprinkling light marked the fairy's quick exit.

"How dare you!" the tiny woman squeaked. "How dare you keep me locked up at like that! I have rights you know!"

"I will be letting you go free," the Aveil replied, her voice all business. "If you will be doing me one favour."

The fairy eyed her suspiciously. "Why should I believe you, huh?"

"I am thinking you have very little choice in the matter."

Wings fluttered as she considered this a moment more. "Go on, then. What do you want?"

"A file check, if you please," the Aveil replied.

"That all?"

"You may be being required to break into the DataNet's most encrypted corridors."

"That all?" the fairy muttered. "And I thought you'd give me a challenge. What're the files on?"

"Two people."

"Who?"

The Aveil thought back to the encounter with the young man on the _Skystalker._

_It's me, Zelda. It's Link!_

"Link," she replied. "And Zelda."

"That it?" A sour look twisted the fairy's features. "No family names? You're already expecting quite the ask."

The Aveil thought hard on this. Somewhere deep in the recesses of her heart, she heard the whisper of another name. A place.

"Of the Kokiri Settlement," she said. "Zelda and Link of the Kokiri Settlement."

The fairy shrugged. "Okay. I'll try." Her face went rigid and her eyes began to glow. A ballet of numbers and letters, ferociously fast, spilled down each iris. An hour passed. Two. In that time the Aveil went back and forth between her cabin and the deck a total of six times. She needed to rest, that's what she'd told Ganondorf as she did so. She didn't want to give him a reason to pry, after all.

Then, as abruptly as it had begun, it ended. "Got it," said the fairy. "You're in luck. Only one of each. Those were some heavy duty codes to break through, let me tell you."

The Aveil felt a strange thrill of anticipation. "Show me."

Two images burst out from the fairy's eyes. A young boy and a young girl. Electric blue text floated beside each picture.

**Designation A: Zelda **

**Designation B: Harkinian [Presumed]**

**Information: Classified. Access limited to Princess Midna alone.**

She knew the girl in the picture. How could she not? It was her - younger, yes, but definitely her. If she was expecting to be hit by some sort of emotional whip by this, it certainly didn't come. She turned instead to the next image.

**Designation: Link**

**Information: Classified. Access limited to Princess Midna alone.**

She felt a prick of frustration. "This is all you are finding after all this time? Can't you be going any deeper than this?"

"Hey, read the words, tin lady," the fairy bit back. "Do I look like Princess Midna to you?"

The Aveil fell silent. Instead her eyes flicked back and forth between the two images. She waited, hoping for the stirring of some faint memory, hoping for a flicker of emotion, an epiphany that would clear the fog of confusion that had now webbed over her mind. Her eyes settled on the picture of the boy named Link.

She looked deep inside and waited.

And _waited._

No response came.

All that she felt was the cold.

...

"You've got to be kidding me," Tetra said as she and her friends came to a halt in the wide, circular cavern. The walls were timber logs, unevenly put together so that slivers of sharp sunlight still managed to peek through. A conical ceiling sat on top, damp in places, and occasionally allowing a drop of moisture to fall through. At the very centre of the chamber, where all eyes were now set, a hollowed out bark of a great oak stood sentinel as the central pillar holding the roof up. It was what was nestling within that oak that had caught Tetra's attention.

"Ah," said Ghirahim, looking up. He moved away from the side wall where a large capsule rested against a piece of strange machinery, passing his throne - now set on the ground - as he did so. A group of his Zora followed in tow.

"My esteemed guests," he said as he smacked his palms. "Sleep, there's the rub. Refreshed now, are we? Or did the fair maiden named peace elude you?"

"You are joking, right?"

Ghirahim turned his attention to the pirate woman. "Now _your _sleep, I am certain, has done little except enhance your innate loveliness. A loveliness that is second only to my very own."

Tetra narrowed her eyes. Link stepped in. "Yeah, thanks a lot," he said. "For your hospitality. For the food and allowing us to sleep here."

_And thanks for letting us keep hold of our weapons, too. _

Ghirahim smiled. "You are most very welcome, I assure you. Merely a reflection of my exquisite magnificence. It's a shame that none of you will leave here alive as you could have heralded my arrival by spreading word of my utter greatness." He sighed. "But such is life, ah?"

Tetra cleared her throat. "So. Yeah. Like I said: You're joking, right?" She gestured. "About all this?"

"Hmm?" he replied. He gestured at the great oak. "This? My Deku Tree?"

"Your what now?"

"I call it the Great Deku Tree. A reminder of the stories my mother used to tell me as a mere babe on her ample bosom."

"Ew," chirped Saria. Ghirahim flashed her a feral grin in response.

The friends crowded around the base of the Deku Tree. Metallic capsules stood within the hollowed out bark, glowing dully wherever the light caught hold. Pipes ran from each one, thrumming with energy. Within each pod, visible through a square of glass set in the door, there lay women of each and every race of the Hyrulean Alliance - and a Gerudo or two as well - eyes shut tight, their hands resting daintily on their chests. Their skin had stretched, appearing unnaturally shrivelled. They would've been young were they not, quite literally, having the life sucked out of them.

"Ah," Ghirahim continued. "The tantalising glimpse of the future. Did I not tell you that I spoke the truth? Hmm?"

"This is horrible," breathed Saria.

Ghirahim twitched. He ignored the younger girl to instead keep his focus on Tetra. "And now I have something more to tantalise me." He gazed at the pirate woman with eyes burning with savage hunger. "The prospect of you, dear, being the next to be added to my collection. I am sure the thought thrills you as it does me. Mayhap it kept you awake this night just passed...?"

"Look," said Tetra, her voice blunt. "Let me put this in words that even you will understand." She pulled at her shirt and cleared her throat in preparation.

"Right," she began, "Have I given you the impression that I am in some way taken or captivated by your presence? Have I? Really? Well, sorry about that, mate. Allow me to correct this most grievous error. I do not give two hoots about what you think of me, how I compare to you, or how much you think you're infatuated with me. Before we crashed here I was blissfully unaware of your existence. I would like to return to that state now." She smiled sweetly. "Thank you."

Ghirahim's smooth features creased in annoyance. His Zora entourage hissed.

The pirate woman ignored it all. "Mako," she ordered. "Give me a status report here."

Rubbing his chin, the little pirate peered at the pipes and the capsules. He flicked at the steely smooth surface, resulting in a hollow metallic echo. A moment passed. Then another. "Well, I never."

A sly smile creased Ghirahim's face, his anger instantly abating. "Ah, the doubting Thomas refuted, I'd wager. Pray do tell us your findings, little man."

Tetra scowled. "Mako?"

"I honestly don't know how he's doing it, Miss Tetra," Mako replied. "But it really does look like he's converting their life force into energy."

"Dark energy," Link added, his voice grim.

"How have you done this?" Mako asked in awe. "How?"

"Magic?" said Ghirahim. He walked back toward his throne. "Would you accept that as a rationale? No? Shame. Because that's the only explanation I'm offering. Ah...the dark arts that my immense intellect has uncovered. Ah. _Ah._"

"You're killing them," said Link, gesturing at the metal pods. "Basically, you're -"

A gasp of pain cut him off. Link spun around - just in time to see one of Ghirahim's zombie Zora's slinking away, a hypodermic needle clutched in her blue-gray hand. The thin sliver of metal was glistening red with Link's blood.

Link rounded on their captor. "Why?" he demanded. "What was that for?"

"Patience," Ghirahim replied calmly. He swivelled on his heel, wood scraping sharply under his boot, then sat himself down on his throne. "And thou shalt soon see. Piercing will be your sight, in fact. The Great Deku Tree is not the only piece of tech I've been working on. Observe."

The Zora retreated to the far side of the chamber where another metallic capsule sat empty next to a machine humming with the dark energy extracted from the young girls. With gentle care, the Zora placed the syringe of Link's blood into the capsule, then swung the polished metal door shut. A smile crept over her zombified lips. She reached out, curled her fingers around a handle, then pulled the lever.

"Ah," Ghirahim cackled. "The thick plottens!" He sniggered at his own joke. "Oops, silly I. I'm positively giggly now."

Dark energy flooded the metallic capsule. It began to rock, slowly at first, then more violently. Metal rattled. Sparks cracked like whips against the air. A gurgling scream rose from within.

Flashes of blue seeped out from behind the door, momentarily bathing those watching in a sapphire hue. Link watched transfixed. A dull chime marked the end of the process.

The assembled crew of pirates and miners began to shift warily. Worried glances passed between. Confused shrugs responded. Ghirahim slouched in his chair, watching them with eyes glittering in dark amusement.

The capsule's metal door swung open in a burst of hissing steam. A pair of Zora dived in instantly, their hands blurred as they worked. They appeared to be applying some sort of jet-black fabric.

"Now, then," said Ghirahim, sitting up. "What was it you said your name was, boy? I forget. Link, correct? Military man, right?"

No one offered him a reply.

"Well, Link. And your fair companion, too. You wished to best me in contest. A battle of wits is what I propose, though you're free to use one weapon each. Yes, I know, I said no fists. I meant that in reference to myself, of course. You'll need to fight in this one." An unhinged laugh floated from his lips. "I've often wondered what it would be like to battle your very own self. Today I shall be enriched with the answer."

A black-clad boot stumbled out of the capsule. The rest followed suit a moment later. The newcomer took a while to gain his footing, but when he did, he emerged out of the smoke and gazed around with blood-red eyes.

"Meet your opponent," said Ghirahim, his voice hushed. "Isn't he a beauty?"

Tetra's face blanched. "Clone tech," she breathed. "It's not possible."

"Impossible is my forte, dear," Ghirahim crooned. "And as for this fine specimen. Why...I think I shall name him..._Dark Link._" He grinned. "Straight and to the point, no?"

Link's heart felt like plummeting lead. Cold shock numbed him to the very centre of his being. The clone was exactly that - aside from the dark hue and the scarlet eyes, he resembled Link in each and every detail. The sheer madness of it pounded at his brain.

Link wasn't the only one overcome. His friends gaped too, silent in their astonished disbelief. Ghirahim seemed to find this even funnier. "Admit it. There is now, as we speak, a tingling in your collective loins, is there not? I'm your hero, aren't I?"

A Zora presented a cloth-bound bundle to the clone who, after a moment's hesitation, unwrapped it slowly. A hiss of freshly ignited energy followed. Dark Link peered down, then carefully pulled free a sword glowing with a ripple of energy a deep shade of blue. His face puckered in thought as he examined the blade, his eyes running from hilt to tip.

"Come forward," Ghirahim said. "You two contestants." He switched his regard onto the clone. "Don't let it end too quick. I want to savour this." He turned back to Tetra and Link. "To reiterate: if you win, you all go free. Be sure to tell people about me, won't you? But if you lose - and you will, I assure you - then you all die. No more head starts for you. Except for _her_, of course. She is mine."

Tetra and Link stood together as the clone approached. The pirate woman fixed her gaze on Ghirahim. "When's the action? You're boring me."

"Very well," said Ghirahim, his voice tight. "It begins..._now_."

Tetra unlatched her crossbow from her belt instantly, swinging it straight up. The first bolt flew a heartbeat later. The clone swivelled on his heel easily, allowing the dart to buzz harmlessly past his head.

Link drew his sword and leapt in.

"Out of the way!" Tetra cried. "I can't get a clear shot."

Link's reply was quiet and simple. "No."

Dark Link fell into a fighting stance at the very moment his eyes locked in on his opponent. Link swallowed - the stance his clone had adopted was identical to his own. Link raised his sword in his left hand ; Dark Link raised his in his right.

The clone feinted to the left, then slid in with a thrust that cut air. Link had already moved, twirling away with just the faintest of stumbles. They watched each other, twitching and tensing, the air between them taut, then both dived in with the exact same lunge.

The two swords entangled, their energy shields distorting, disengaged, then attacked again. Link stepped in with a thrust that met thin air. He jabbed his sword back, whirled away from a pinpoint counter-lunge from his opponent, then followed through with a slice aimed for the clone's head. Dark Link arced his back, and Link's sword slit cold air.

Link stepped back. That was a move he knew well.

It _was_ one of his own, after all.

Out of the corner of his air he saw Tetra stalking around them, one foot slowly in front of the other. She'd aim her crossbow, her eye narrowed, then jab it aside whenever Link got into her line of sight. He heard her hiss in frustration.

Dark Link dove in once more. Their swords clashed again in a fierce crackle of energy. They slid apart, both men executing a twirl that mirrored the other perfectly. Dark Link tried for a jab. Link hooked his own sword under the thrust. His heart surged. He had him -

Dark Link jerked his sword arm away safely.

The fight was slow, like an ancient battle with depowered weapons. And with good reason. The clone could afford to take his time. He matched Link's every move. Fear began to rise like a tide in Link's heart. How could you beat someone who knew exactly what you were going to do?

Link felt the fear, felt the bubbling of anxiety.

He could die here today.

_Calm. In control._

His clone matched his every step. Could second-guess his every move.

_Calm. In control._

The mantra gave him strength. He felt his awareness rise. Link still experienced the turmoil of emotion, but somehow at the same time saw himself distant from it, like an observer peeking in from above.

He sensed Tetra still on the prowl behind him. That wasn't good. Link had no idea what the pirate woman had in mind.

He shouldn't have allowed himself to be so distracted.

Dark Link pounced, his sword snaking in towards Link's chest. Link had his own blade up instantly. Steel chinked and energy crackled as he skewed the first attack aside, then blocked the second. Twin bursts of flame erupted at the far corner of Link's eye. A pair of buzzing crossbow bolts flitted past his ear. His clone sliced them in two in mid-air.

The shock of that distracted Link once again. Energised steel cut free a slim ribbon of blood on his chest. Whirling, the clone followed through with an elbow to the side of Link's head that jolted him with pain all the way down into the roots of his teeth. Two more blows followed straight to the face - one low, one slightly higher. Link felt his nose swell up instantly. An elbow struck his throat. He gasped. His vision blurred. His sword began to slip from his near-nerveless fingers.

"Good!" Ghirahim cackled. "Good! Now - end it!"

Link's lungs burned as a knee to the stomach came next. Another blow followed, a white flash exploding in his eyes, and Link found himself flat on his back.

As he lay there he heard the angry buzz of a crossbow firing, followed by a snarl of energy coated metal. A vision came to him. A young woman, lovely and illuminated, with wings the colour of honey.

"_Hey,_" the vision said. "_Link...bzzt...Is that you? I'm trying to...bzzt... lock onto your position. I think I've almost got it, but -"_

The vision faded. Link blinked, then dragged himself to his feet. He frowned. Why was it so quiet?

Link peered through a eye that was now quickly swelling. The first thing he noticed was that the clone had backed off. The second thing was that his dark shadow was now surrounded by the crew of _The Waking Wind, _their weapons drawn. The third was Ghirahim's seething visage.

Link felt his heart flutter with relief and joy.

"This is how you play, is it?" Ghirahim cried. "I let you keep your weapons in good faith - as a token of my grand generosity and overall greatness. This is no sport. You have bested no one today, least of all my magnificent self."

_Calm. In control._

_Don't let the emotion ride you. Any emotion._

"We're pirates," Tetra grinned. "This is how we -"

"No."

Tetra blinked, then turned to Link. "Sorry, what? Did you just say 'no'?"

_Let your actions be beautiful..._

Link ignored the pirate. He instead pointed his sword at Ghirahim. "Swear. Swear on your own 'magnificence'," he said. "Swear that if we fight fair and we win, that you'll not only let us all go, but you'll let the women in those pods go, too."

Ghirahim's lip twitched. His eyes blazed. "Why should I? The terms have been already set."

Link held the chaos churning in his heart in check. "Then you're not that great, are you? Not as much as you think, at least. Anyone _great _wouldn't hesitate to agree. It'd be such a grand reflection on them, after all.

"Sure, you could just _say_ you agree , then, if we win, you could kill us all afterward. But _you_ would know, wouldn't you? It would haunt you. That little niggle of self-doubt, yeah? That voice that wonders if you're really all that special. Why, we'd have practically set up camp in your head."

The ensuing silence only lasted a few moments. "Fine," spat Ghirahim. "I'll only go and get some more. It's not like there's a dearth of young maidens in the world now, is it?"

"The Zora, too. Let them go."

"Now you presume too much, good sir."

"Ghirahim the weak. Ghirahim the coward."

"Agh!" the cloaked man snarled. "Fine, fine, and thrice fine, curse you - I accept your pathetic terms. Now give me my promised sport. I have naught to fear, after all - you will not win."

Satisfied, Link turned his attention to the Tech Pirates. "Don't interfere."

Tetra's eyes widened. "I do _not _believe this! Are you serious?"

"Order them to stand down, Captain. This is our fight. You and me against...him."

Tetra let free a snarling breath. "Let it drop, boys."

Link hobbled in close to her. "Nice plan, Captain."

Tetra leaned in even closer. "That wasn't the plan."

He would've frowned at this had Dark Link not sprung straight back into action. Within seconds Link's arm and shoulder had been slashed. A sharp kick sent him skidding across the ground. He tried to stagger back to his feet instantly, but only managed to wobble, then drop to one knee.

Panic rose. His mind raced.

_Calm. In control._

How could you beat someone who knew exactly what you were going to do?

_By doing the unexpected. Sorry, Zelda. This is one action that's not going to go down as beautiful._

"Captain Tetra," he croaked.

"Yeah?" Her eyes remained fixed on the clone now slowly stalking her.

Link's throat ached. "I knew...ack... a crossbowman who could hit the...the crown jewels from halfway across Castle City." He gasped for breath. "You get me?"

Tetra flicked a glance over at him, then back to the clone. "I got you."

One eye narrowed, she trained her weapon on Dark Link's head. He tracked her every movement with a snarl. He feinted; Tetra held her ground. She jerked her crossbow. The clone snapped his head away - and in that instant, she dropped her weapon arm, aimed, and fired.

The bolt ploughed straight into the clone's groin. He screamed, a high-pitched mix of surprise and pain. Link burst into life, sliding across the gap instantly. He jabbed his knee into the back of the clone's, bringing Dark Link kneeling to the ground. Link spun his hissing sword once, twice, then drove it straight through his dark counterpart's heart. The clone's crimson eyes flashed brilliantly for a heartbeat, then slowly faded to embers. Link tugged his sword free, then gave the clone a gentle push. Dark Link toppled over easily.

Breathing hard, Link gazed down, saw the dead eyes of his own face stare back, then slumped to his own knees with a thud. A fit of violent spasms ran down the course of his body. Calm and in control? It hadn't been true at all. Not. At. All. Another notch on the failure list.

Ghirahim bolted to his feet, aghast. Even the zombified Zora seemed to back off slightly. Ghirahim opened his mouth, but nothing came out, his jaw working soundlessly.

Tetra shrugged. "Boo hoo, huh?"

The chamber suddenly shook. Loose logs tumbled from the roof. Everyone spun around. Raised voices rang out from outside. The doors to the Grand Chamber burst open. Zora soldiers, armed and clad in royal blue, marched in. Ferocity marked each face, but none more so than on the Zora in the lead.

"I am Prince Ralis," he said. "Who dares defile Zora land?"

"Ah ha," said Captain Tetra, grinning in relief. "At last." She folded her arms. "Now this. _This _was the plan!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The _Skullkrusher _leapt out of warp straight into a sea of swirling black fog. Ganondorf Dragmire, his eyes newly narrowed, stepped further forward on the deck. Armour tinkled in chorus as his men scattered out of his path.

A fine mist of condensation settled instantly upon Dragmire's polished Darkhide armour. The glowing purple energy hummed softly. Its metal shell betrayed a sliver of a tremble as cold air penetrated it and bled into the Gerudo chief's skin, chilling him down to the bone. Dragmire felt a tight knot of disquiet at that. Nothing should be able to breach the Darkhide. _Nothing._

"_All stop._"

"Yes, Master," Whisp replied.

Dark energy flickered as the growl of the ship's immense engines began to die down. Fluttering sails began to quieten. The _Skullkrusher _slowed to a crawl, as though it were wading through the murky sky itself, then came to a stop, hanging motionless in the inky gloom. Dragmire peered into the darkness. Indigo energy seeped out from every panel line of his ship, a glowing pencil-thin net against the false night, the only physical marker that they were even there. It bathed the deck in a soft lilac hue.

"_Where are we, Whisp?"_

A kaleidoscope of dancing lights flickered briefly in the fairy's skeletal eye holes. "Unknown, Maszter."

He'd expected that answer. He didn't like it, though.

"_And where is __**she?**__"_

"I can sztill detect her, Maszter. I juszt cannot szee her."

He didn't even have to give the order. Gerudo soldiers craned over the ship's railings to search. Ganondorf joined them a moment later, though he restrained himself to a more dignified glance. Pure blackness stared back. This wasn't right. The mining ship was running navigation lights. She should be just as detectable as they were.

"_Why has she not warped?" _asked Dragmire as he moved away from the deck's edge. _"Has that not been her M.O. thus far?_"

Whisp's reply was small and hushed. "I do not know, Maszter."

Silence followed. Dragmire's thoughts turned inward. His people had a myth, one delivered down from ancient times, about how they had once been mostly a race of women, and that once every century a male would be born, one who, by default, would rise to lead his people.

The whole idea struck Ganondorf as quite preposterous. After all, if there were but one male, then where did all the other women come from? From the efforts of that one man? The sheer logistics involved...

Of course, there was the prospect of some inter-species breeding going on, but the very notion of that made Dragmire's skin crawl with disgust.

No. The whole idea was idiotic. _Especially _the notion that one could rise to power simply by virtue of being of a unique gender. Ganondorf Dragmire knew from very personal experience that it took a lot more than that to reach the pinnacle of supreme authority. It took sacrifice. And blood.

After all, when he'd stood up in the Gerudo Council as a young man and poured venom from his tongue, lambasting his race for their lazy, indulgent and shallow ways, hadn't it been his own sister Telma - herself a prominent and very popular member of the ruling class - who had privately opposed him? And hadn't she been the one who had been found butchered in her chambers that very night? And hadn't his tears, transmitted over a network of a thousand Gerudo pictovid screens, been enough to rally support around him?

Sacrifice and blood. They never did find the crude, home-constructed axe by which his sister had met her death. They never would. They wouldn't see its still-rusted edge, see the dark stain dyed into the wood of the handle that no amount of intense scrubbing could efface. Of course they wouldn't. Ganondorf Dragmire had kept the axe with him to this very day.

And another thing that no living soul would ever discover, either: Those tears he'd shed the night his sister's body had been found? Those tears had been quite genuine.

Sacrifice and blood. If he hadn't have taken action, then the Gerudo today would have been no more than fat, bloated consumers eating processed and over-fried meat while sitting transfixed in front of the hypnotic glare of an empty pictovid screen. The mere thought of it made his blood churn in rage and invited bitter bile to rise in his throat.

One day, if they ever met again in some sort of afterlife, he was sure his sister Telma would understand. Maybe she'd even be happy. Proud, too.

"There!" one of his soldiers suddenly cried. He was pointing. "I see her!"

"_Excellent!" _It took two thundering strides for Ganondorf to reach the man. "_Whisp - cannons at the ready!" _

Anticipation whetted Dragmire's tongue. Finally this pursuit - this _personal _pursuit - would be over. He followed his minion's gaze. Black fog swirled. The cold grew. Ganondorf's excitement began to ebb. "_I see nothing."_

Doubt made the warrior shakily withdraw his arm. "I- I am sorry, Master. I must have been mistaken."

"_Mistaken? There is nothing to see here but the dark. How could you have possibly been mistaken?"_

"M-my eyes. Sometimes they play tricks. I-it's a family defect."

Dragmire's own eyes blazed. _A fool. I have been made to look a fool in front of my men._

As if realising his predicament, the Gerudo minion's face took on a feverish tinge, made worse by the dim purple light bleeding up from the deck. "Have mercy, Master."

Ganondorf pursed his lips. "_Mercy."_

"Yes." The soldier cast his gaze downward. "I beg you."

A heartbeat of silence passed. Two. Three.

"_Granted."_

The soldier's entire body sagged in relief. And as it did so, Dragmire pounced, his sword flying free from its scabbard in a hum of newly ignited energy. A neat slice through the man's neck was all it took.

"_A quick and painless death," _said Ganondorf as thick, dark liquid pooled around his boot. "_Is that not merciful enough?"_

The deck shivered slightly at the presence of a new footfall. "I am not liking this place."

Ganondorf didn't turn to greet the returning Aveil. "_Why not, dear?" _Amusement bubbled under the surface of his voice.He took a moment to sheathe his sword. _"Afraid of the dark?"_

"It is being that fairy," she replied. "The mining fairy. This is being her plan. Whisp - can you not be finding out more about this fog? What is it and what does it do?"

More lights of myriad colours, burning bright against the dark background, skipped in the Gerudo fairy's eyes. "Nothing concrete, Misztressz. Mythsz, mainly."

"About? Be telling us quickly, Whisp."

Skeletal features creased in brief concern as the fairy hesitated. "Tech interference, Misztressz. Bandwidth interception."

Ganondorf's eyes widened. He spun around to the Aveil. "_Are you thinking that-"_

He froze, his eyes now even larger. When he spoke, his voice dripped with icy menace. "_Where is your mask?"_

"Gone."

"_Why?"_

Glowing blue eyes regarded him with a cool stare. "I do not wish to be wearing it any longer."

Dragmire's metallic gloves creaked as his hands slowly balled into fists. "_Why not?"_

"I am preferring my own face." The Aveil's voice rang with steely defiance. Her chin was bathed in the shimmering violet light of dark energy. Gerudo soldiers began to back away from their two chiefs. "Is there anything being wrong with it?"

"_You __**must **__wear your mask."_

Sapphire eyes blazed. "Why? You do not wear one. No one is wearing one but me. _Why?_"

A low rumble echoed through the dark void like distant thunder, cutting them both off. Everyone on board looked up. Cold air followed after, sending a tremble through each person standing on deck.

Ganondorf's eyes scanned the black heavens. "_What was that? Whisp...?"_

Wood shattered. The entirety of the _Skullkrusher _juddered violently. The deck erupted in a plume of shrapnel as a cannonball ploughed through from below. It caught one unsuspecting Gerudo soldier, then curved up and out into the dark sky, leaving behind a trail of golden energy and the fast-diminishing scream of its victim.

Ganondorf leapt over to the ship's railings and peered over the side. His eyes darted. He saw a wisp of black fog below and there, in that brief instant, caught a glimpse of red and green lights misted over by the smoky haze.

"_There she is!_" he cried, pointing. "_Dive, Whisp! Dive!"_

"Yesz, Maszter."

The _Skullcrusher's _engines rose instantly to a roar before the entire ship pitched downward toward her prey, plummeting through the dark abyss. Those on deck clutched hard to whatever handhold they could find as the screaming wind whipped sharply into their faces. Another glimpse of the mining ship's running lights peeked through the murk.

"_Fire!" _Dragmire screamed, flecks of saliva flying from his lips. "_FIRE!"_

Multiple cannons flared into life, bruising the darkness with a momentary blister of brilliant, fiery orange.

...

The Hyrulean Alliance.

What were they before the war? Disparate tribes and races, connected only by a few meagre trade routes, tech-sharing, and the odd - yes, _odd_ - interspecies marriage. What were they, really? Who brought them together?

_Me. I did._

Hands clasped behind her back, Princess Midna gazed out of her Throne Room of the Emerald Palace onto the sprawling mass of life and tech that was Castle City. Her heart floated with a joy that rode a tide of surging pride. This was all her work.

The joy morphed into a fierce love. Her work. _Her _Hyrule. She would do anything for the people of this land. In fact, she probably _had_ done, including things that some short-sighted people with airy-fairy ideas would consider morally dubious. They were fools. In the list of attributes a good leader needed - a _strong_ leader- 'morals' barely scraped a place at the bottom, if they were to be even included at all.

Take the Sheikah, for example. Sworn guardians of the Royal Family of Hyrule.

_'What _Royal Family?' - That's the question the people of the Alliance would ask, followed closely by 'The only Hylian royalty we know is Princess Midna.'

And quite right, too. That was what was good and proper. That was what allowed to people to sleep peacefully at night, the last image greeting their eyes being a pictograph of the princess, a picture that was obligatory to be placed upon bedroom walls in every household in Castle City. They'd go to sleep in gratitude and awaken afresh the next morning with that same well-cultivated appreciation.

Now imagine the destabilisation and chaos that would occur if someone came with an alternative claim to the throne. Why, trade would plummet. Unhappiness and anxiety would have been the order of the day. Princess Midna could not have allowed that. And so the Sheikah, despite just being 'protectors' to any potential claim, had to go.

One night, while the rest of the Alliance had slept peacefully in their beds, Midna had leaked to the Gerudo the exact biometric tracking pattern they would need to hunt down each and every one of that rebel race.

The Gerudo had been efficient, she had to give them that. She hadn't known at the time that Dragmire's quarrel with the Sheikah was due to his fear of the girl Zelda and her link to the Master Sword, but it hadn't mattered then. After all, back then she had thought the Gerudo to be basically animals who killed and maimed on instinct. How was she to have known back then that they actually had thoughts and plans, too? Feelings, even?

She wished Dragmire _had _ killed Zelda in the Purge - like she assumed later he would do when she had handed the girl right over to him - as that would have relieved her of the worries weighing down on her mind right then.

And the Sheikah? Well, her palace still bore their colours, so they could hardly complain of being forgotten, could they? The ingrates.

Princess Midna loved her people. She loved her Hyrule.

And how had they repaid her?

Her mood soured instantly like a drop of vinegar in a bowl of cream. This was the room where Link had come to pay her a visit, to 'remind' her in his irritatingly arrogant way that he could get to her at any time he wanted. She should have struck him down on the spot right then. But, as was her nature, she'd let mercy and compassion stay her hand.

And what gratitude did he show? Why, he'd only gone and teamed up with some tech pirates to steal the Master Sword. That _accursed _sword that she couldn't even touch any more without breaking out in sweat, fever and an attack of shivers.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

But she wasn't the shy, retiring type of princess - like those of ancient times - the type that would hole themselves away in their castle waiting for the world to sort itself out or, worse, to wait for a knight in shining, presumably energy driven, armour. No. She was a princess of action.

Midna swivelled away from the glass windowed wall. "Chancellor Cole," she said, her voice reverberating around the cavernous room. "Attend me."

A little man draped in green trotted up to a glass table set up in the room's centre. As Midna swept gracefully over the threshold to join him there, she noted again the ridiculous trends of local fashion her councillor indulged himself in - today, for example, his ginger hair peeked out from under a bizarre pair of top hats. Madness.

The little man placed a palm on the glass table top. Golden yellow light blossomed under his touch. He whisked his hand upward and a pictovid sprung into life, hovering over the glass. The Zora waterfalls tumbled silently within the image.

"Your Highness," said Cole. "I beg your pardon for the tardiness of this report. This little group of miners are quite hard to track."

"Not just miners, Chancellor," Midna replied. "Tech pirates, too. You can lay the blame of any delay at their door, I don't doubt. You have nothing to apologise for."

Cole's moustache twitched in relief. "Thank you, Highness. These pirates, however, seem to be very well equipped."

"I am certain they are the same band of miscreants who stole my Eye in the Sky. My Triforce of Power, too. What do you know about them, Cole?"

"Very little, I'm afraid." The Chancellor shrugged apologetically. He tapped on the image of the waterfalls and the picture zoomed in. "Heat traces and flecks of debris found right here a few days back seem to indicate an explosion. A ship exploding, to be exact. I'd say it was the pirate vessel. Only because we still have a trace on the mining ship."

"And what of the _Maximus?"_

"Well, like I said, all we know is that she is still active. _Where_ is a little more difficult. She's been separated from her crew, that's for certain. We believe that _they_ are currently guests of Prince Ralis."

"Is that so?" Princess Midna's scarlet eyes darkened. "Send out word to the newsfeed networks. A rumour, if you will. About how the waters of the Zora may not be as clean and healthy as they claim. Poison some children - nothing fatal, mind - and roll them out in front of the vids. Pay their parents to keep quiet, too."

Cole bowed his head. "Very good, Your Highness."

"Let's see how many tourists Ralis gets at his Bliss Beaches now," she said softly. "Anything else?"

"Yes, Ma'am," said Cole. "The girl named Saria." A tap of fingers brought the relevant image into the air. "There is something odd about her. It took us a while to even find any trace of her, but when we did, we managed a partial biometric scan and, well, it's all very strange. She resembles a young girl - mentally and in physical _form -_but her bio data indicates that she is at least twenty-five years old."

"Very strange indeed," the princess replied. "And one for our scientists to ponder. But you have to give me something I can use."

"Of course, Highness." Cole softly cleared his throat. "The Goron captain. Gortram." He touched another part of the table. An image of Gortram's face popped into the air, accompanied by glowing text. "Despite being employed by them, it would appear he did not leave the Gorons on the best of terms. In fact, there are matters they would still like to discuss with him."

A feral smile widened the princess's lips. "Well, we should do our duty as good allies and let them know of his current location, should we not?"

Cole nodded in acknowledgment. He tapped out a message on the glass. Red letters burned in the air at his touch before darting off out of the corner of their vision. "Your Highness...should we prepare an assault on the Zora?"

"No," she replied. "Everything is too delicate for us to be so unsubtle. Keep a track on the mining crew, though. I want to see how the Gorons deal with this."

"You have a plan?"

"Naturally." She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "My plan is to let them get to Ganondorf."

"Highness?"

"Don't you see? It's perfect. Let them rescue the girl Zelda. They have the Master Sword now. It'd be a shame not to let them use it. And once the deed is done and Dragmire is dead - _then _we will step in." She smacked a fist into her palm for emphasis. "And end them all in one swift blow."

"Very good, Your Highness." A hungry look filled Cole's eyes. "And as a contingency?"

Princess Midna flicked her burning red gaze over to the Chancellor. "You know very well."

Childish glee twisted the little man's features. "Tell me, Highness! Tell me again!"

She felt disgust rise in her throat. Cole was a loyal and competent underling, but there were certain aspects of his personality that even _she _found repulsive.

"Very well." Princess Midna gently placed a finger against the glass. An angry scarlet blur responded.

"_Restricted access," _a mechanical voice intoned.

"Override," the princess replied. "Voice scan."

"_Scanning._" A faint buzz followed. "_Confirmed: Princess Midna. Access granted."_

A three-dimensional image spun slowly into the air. It was a cannonball, circled by rings of bright blue energy. A hush fell over the two Hylians. Chancellor Cole leaned forward, naked lust written all over his face. Even Midna felt her mouth go bone dry.

Text shimmered beneath the image. It read:

_Warning. Experimental tech. Thermonuclear device. _

"If I cannot have Hyrule," Princess Midna said softly. "Then no one can."

...

Waves upon waves of smoky black vapour crashed softly upon the _Skullkrusher's _deck. Engines pulsed with a throaty growl as the ship pulled out of its dive.

Ganondorf Dragmire snarled in frustration. "_All stop."_

"All stop, Maszter."

The _Skullkrusher's _engines slowed to a throb. The biting cold wind dropped as the ship's momentum fell. Dragmire, teeth still bared, searched the skies until his eyes hurt. "_Where is she? Where did she go now?"_

"Unknown, Maszter," Whisp replied. Her voice seemed troubled. The fairy knew, as did everyone else on board, that delivering bad news to Ganondorf Dragmire could result in a dramatic reduction in your life expectancy. "She managed to avoid our attack and then...I do not know."

Ganondorf closed his eyes. His right temple began to throb. How many times had he had to relive this very scene in his pursuit of the mining ship? His oh-so-_simple_ pursuit. How could a lowly mining fairy manage to elude the greatest ship in his fleet?

He smacked his palm against the ship's railing. A metallic echo rang out. Ganondorf opened his eyes once more.

"_Did she warp? Tell me she did not warp yet again._"

Whisp's voice seemed cowed. "I don't detect any warp signatures, Maszter."

"_So she's still here."_ His lip twitched. "_Why? Tech interference you said, Whisp?"_

The floating skull seemed lost in thought. "She could be trying to piggyback onto my personal frequencies," she said. "I haven't noticed anything of the szort, though."

Ganondorf snarled. "_But __**why? **__What does she hope to gain by that? I doubt a fairy of her class could command a ship like this."_

Whisp spoke under her breath, and not without a smidgen of admiration. "She doesz appear to be a fairy quite out of the ordinary."

The Aveil sighed loudly. "I am retiring to my cabin. Be contacting me if there is any news."

Ganondorf snapped his head around toward her. "_Again? You appear to spending quite a lot of time on your own. Is there anything the matter, dear?"_

The Aveil's reply was calm and steady. "I am tired of this constant chasing. I am being more useful when I am being fully rested."

Ganondorf held her gaze for a painfully long time before he replied. "_You cannot leave this deck until you put on your mask."_

The fog swirled around them as the silence settled. Finally, the Aveil spat out a single word. "Fine."

Her fingers danced and her mask slowly slid back into place. She didn't bother to acknowledge any of the Gerudo as she left, least of all Ganondorf Dragmire. She turned on her heel, slid down the ladder to the lower deck, and made her way down to her cabin, her footsteps hard and hollow. Her door opened with a click and she entered the room. Still lit in green, her chambers allowed the Aveil to feel instantly soothed.

"It's the mask."

The Aveil inhaled sharply. She looked up in surprise. The mining fairy floated in front of her, fluttering serenely. No, the Aveil realised instantly, it wasn't her truly, it was just a projection of her. The Aveil could see straight through her transparent form.

"I'm Navi," the fairy explained. "The pleasure's all yours, I'm sure."

Disbelief stilled the Aveil's tongue for a few moments longer. "How are you even being here?"

"This techno-fog is neat, huh? Let's me get through all your ship's defences. Bit complex this ship, though. Suits Ganondorf's style, I suppose. You know what they say about men with big ships, right?"

The Aveil hadn't focused on any of that. "What are you meaning? You were mentioning my mask?"

"It's the tech that's keeping you from getting to your memories. A controlled energy pulse straight into the brain. Nasty." A pause. "I can disable it if you want."

Suspicion made the Aveil's brow furrow beneath her mask. "How? Like I am saying, you are not even being here."

"Praise the techno-fog, great and glorious fog like substance that it is." The fairy blinked. "Or something."

"What?"

"I can use the fog to get to your mask," Navi explained patiently. "Shouldn't be too hard."

The Aveil swallowed. "Will...will my memories be returning? All of them?"

"Nope," Navi replied bluntly. "But they will eventually. The next time you experience some sort of trigger."

"Trigger? Like...?"

The mining fairy shrugged. "Like... a familiar place. Or person."

"No one is knowing who I am."

"Well, there's Link, I suppose."

The Aveil felt a jolt inside the cold cavern of her heart. It was smothered instantly. "Link...? He is...still being alive?"

"Oh yeah," said Navi. "They all are. I've got a trace of their biometric signatures. Just have to hone in on them. Piece of cake. Wait. Do you even eat cake? What _do _you eat?"

The Aveil seemed lost to her own thoughts. "Link...is being alive. Alive."

Navi's wings fluttered silently as she bobbed up and down in mid-air. "Well, what do you say? You want me to short out your mask?"

The Aveil swallowed again. She knew there would be no going back after this. "Yes."

Navi flashed her a wicked grin. "Sweet!"

The Aveil held her breath. She felt the cold clutch around her heart. Navi hovered there, apparently not yet ready to begin the process. The Aveil wondered at what she would feel, wondered at the memories that she might unearth. Would this never-ending cold finally go? Would she finally -

"It's done."

The Aveil blinked beneath her mask. "W-what?"

Navi smiled. "It's gone."

"But...I am not feeling anything different."

"_You won't."_

The Aveil whirled around. Ganondorf Dragmire stood in the open doorway, a dark silhouette lined in green light. He crossed his arms.

"_Not yet, anyway," _he continued as he stepped inside. "_It would seem you have outlived your usefulness. Almost outlived, I should say"_

The Aveil began to slowly back away. "What are you meaning?"

"_I mean that I kept you alive simply to entertain me." _A pensive expression crossed his face. "_Well, that...and the fact that you remind me of Telma. As did Nabooru before you. If only I had had the tech back then to ..."_

When the Aveil realised he wasn't going to add anything further, she said, "I do not know to whom you are referring. Or what it has to be doing with me."

"_You._" He was brought back to himself in an instant. Alertness flooded his every movement. _"You may still have one last role to play. Especially since - if what this worm of a fairy says is true- the mining crew still lives. If they are alive, presumably they still possess the Triforce piece."_

Navi looked unimpressed. "Well, I don't have it, dummy."

Dragmire's face darkened. "_Have a care-"_

"What?" Navi cut in. "Just realised you've been on my tail for no good reason? I'm hurt. For a minute there I thought you really liked me."

A smile, thin and cold, emerged on the Gerudo's lips. "_Bait. Yes, bait. The two of you to draw your friends in."_

"Bait?" laughed Navi. "Hello, you're forgetting something. You don't have me."

"_Oh, really?"_

"Yes, rea-AAAAAAAAH!" Navi stiffened instantly, her back and arms suddenly rigid. Energy crackled and spat. A droning buzz filled the room.

"_A nice trick, fairy, jumping onto our frequencies like that. You forgot, though, that it left you open, too. This fog works both ways, after all. Whisp just had to follow the trail."_

Navi had her head thrown back, her eyes open wide and unblinking. "Nnnnn..." she moaned. Her projected form shimmered in and out of synch, as though multiple Navis were trying to occupy the same spot and exactly the same time.

_"Now you are disabled. Your ship, too."_

The Aveil had backed off so much that her spine was now pressed up against a wall. "W-wait," she breathed. "Wait."

Ganondorf's eyes shifted over to her. "_Yes?"_

"I was not betraying you," she said. "I was merely curious."

"_Merely curious."_

"Yes. I wanted to be testing the fairy's claims."

"_Really."_

"Yes." She forced steel into her quavering voice. "Yes! I will be proving it to you."

Despite himself, Ganondorf Dragmire seemed genuinely interested. "_Explain._"

Beneath her mask, the Aveil glanced over at the fairy. Navi hovered there, back stiff, a pained expression stretched over her face. "You are being right. Let us use this fairy as bait. And myself, too, if you think it will be helping. Let them know that I have turned against you. I doubt that they would be considering me that important to rescue."

She felt something then. Something that wasn't just the usual cold prodding at her soul. It was warm and bitter and chafed her heart raw. It wasn't pleasant, but she welcomed feeling something new.

"_Go on."_

"But we must be making them angry. They will be making mistakes then. Give me this fairy. What I will be doing to her _will _be rousing their anger. I guarantee it."

Ganondorf chewed the inside of his cheek in thought. "_I do not trust you, but I do like the plan. It is settled then. We will draw these flies to us using this fairy as bait."_

The Aveil felt the cold swallow her heart once more. "Thank you. I will not be letting you down."

Ganondorf Dragmire chuckled. "_You certainly will not. __**You **__will prove yourself to __**me. **__You will prove yourself to me... by welcoming this fairy to a whole world of pain."_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

To say that the Zora were fond of water would be quite the understatement. Prince Ralis's palace blended tech and liquid in a seamless fashion, both practically - or so Link had been told - and as a decorative function. Take the large, oval room Link had been housed in as a guest of the prince. The walls were veined with glowing intricate patterns that were, at closer glance, nothing more than tiny tubes set into the alabaster, tubes filled with a mixture of gushing water and blue-tinted energy.

_Sweet._

Aghast, Link caught himself instantly.

_Why am I thinking like Navi?_

He glanced at the patterned walls again. Link had to admit that the effect was quite soothing.

Prince Ralis's palace was built into the cliff wall behind the Zora Falls - _literally _behind the falls. This meant that the only view from Link's wide window was the tumble of cascading water in colours of shimmering green, sparkling yellow, twinkling blue and ruby red. It was all a bit hypnotic, to be honest.

_Hypnotic and soothing. No wonder people come to the Zora to wash away their troubles._

Soundproofing tech kept the rumble of the water to a minimum, and the shadows that danced across his room's floor from the permanent rain outside - or so it seemed each time he took a glance through the window - were all blurred and in constant wavy motion.

Link wasn't alone in his room. A Zora maidservant went about her work, dusting and wiping the crystalline furniture with accomplished ease. His table, chair and bed were all made from the same type of light, transparent crystal. Each item was filled with dyed water - his chair a luminous green, his table a pale blue and his bed an inky black. The combination of crystal and colour was so strong that Link thought that the Zora furnishing looked nothing more than overgrown sweets. It even made his mouth water.

The maidservant wouldn't meet Link's eyes. He didn't know exactly why, but he felt that it had little to do with humility or some sort of perceived social standing. She didn't want to be there in his presence, that was for certain. It was something that a dim part of his subconscious had noticed but not paid much attention to. Instead, he focussed on the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. It was Zelda's crude drawing, the one that Tetra had given to him before their operation to 'liberate' the Master Sword, the one that seemingly depicted both him and Zelda. The one Zelda had drawn years before she'd ever known him.

He laid the picture out flat on the table. A stream of bubbles plumed up toward it from the clear blue water within. Link frowned. How could Zelda, at that young an age, have possibly known that she would meet him later in her life? His mind offered up a number of possibilities and none gave him any satisfaction. He supposed this was one of those times when over-thinking just didn't help. Rauru would've been proud.

Link puffed out a tiny sigh and concentrated elsewhere - like, what did the picture actually _mean_?

_It means that she must have been waiting for you since she was three._

The thought warmed his heart, oddly touching as it was. The feeling didn't last. If she'd really been waiting for him, if she'd really been relying on him for _whatever_ cosmic purpose, then he'd let her down big time. As usual, the poison of his own self-loathing, cold as lead as it was, smothered any good feelings, starving them of any possible room to grow. He found _that_ to be a childish and self-indulgent reaction. And that realisation, paradoxically, just made his loathing even worse.

_Calm. In control._

He saw himself briefly rise above it all, saw the feelings floating _down there_ while he himself rested on a soft cloud of temporary calm. Temporary was the key word- deciding that he wasn't going to be able to maintain that detached state, he turned his attention elsewhere.

Now, Link was no fool - or, at least, he didn't think he was. Most of the time, he could catch the subtleties in another person's mood just from their body language and general demeanour. That's why he couldn't help but notice the waves of apparent hostility roiling out from the Zora maidservant still bustling busily in his room.

"Um," he said, unsure. He ran a hand through his hair. "Hello."

The maidservant - and who had maids in this day and age? - looked up at him for the first time, eyebrow cocked. She wore the expression of someone who could make you wilt and dissolve by the force of her stare alone. Link - who had fought against a horde of Gerudo in his army days, had tested himself against the Wind Fish and had won, had infiltrated the Emerald Palace then stolen the Master Sword a few weeks later, and had gone toe-to-toe with his own clone and had outsmarted him - felt duly cowed. He swallowed.

"Yes?" the maidservant finally replied. Her voice was faintly accented. "Is there anything you need?"

"Yeah. Well. I mean..." Link decided to cut straight to the fat. "Look. Is there a problem between you and I?"

The maidservant had the grace to appear momentarily flustered. "A problem? Why would there be a problem? Of course not. I don't know even know you. A problem? Ridiculous. I -" Her obsidian eyes glittered as her voice caught. She stared helplessly.

"Go on," Link said softly.

She took a step forward. Link couldn't help but notice the dignity and grace by which she carried herself. "I heard you were one of Princess Midna's soldiers."

"That's right." When she wouldn't elaborate further he asked, "Why do you ask?"

"I -" Again she lost her composure. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"It's okay," he said. "I won't get angry. Whatever you have to say."

Amusement flashed faintly in her eyes. "How can you be so certain?"

"Well," he replied. "I can't. Not really. But I can guarantee that _if _I do get angry, it won't be directed at you."

Her graceful demeanour had returned. She cocked an eyebrow again. "Presumptuous. Maybe that's typical of someone in your field..."

"I really, _really _don't know what you're talking about," said Link. "This is the kind of conversation where I feel like I've been stuck into a fishbowl." He looked stricken as he realised what he'd just said. "Uh. No offence."

The maid's dark, liquid eyes glittered. "Do you know of the Battle of Deep Cove?"

Now Link felt on steadier ground. He certainly did know of that battle. It was one of the first campaigns he'd been involved in. Hylians and Zora had stood side by side against a hard Gerudo incursion into the Domain.

"Yes," he replied.

There was a shift, ever so slight, in her posture. "Were you...were you present? That day at the battle? Were you there?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "Were plenty of heroes that day, I can tell you."

She snorted. "_Heroes?"_

Link's smile faded. He held her gaze. Her heard the faint tumble of water from outside. "Tell me what happened," he said, his voice soft. Saria would call it his 'doctor voice.' "Go on."

Muscles in her cheeks twitched. She was clearly finding it all very difficult. "Only if you answer me a single question afterward."

"Yeah. Sure." He blinked as he carefully folded away Zelda's drawing and slipped it into a free pouch on his belt. "What's your name?"

"Laruto."

"I'm Link."

"I know. We all know. The prince doesn't entertain guests all that often."

"Right."

Laruto wrung her hands. "I used to live in a fishing village at the edge of Deep Cove. When the Gerudo came..." Her voice trailed off. "No. That's not what matters. What _matters_ is what happened afterward."

Link felt a clammy sense of cold unease prick at his heart. "Afterward some of the squadrons stayed behind to help with the clear-up."

"Yes!" she said, pleased that he understood. "Yes. And there was one...'squadron' as you put it, a Hylian one, that came into my village."

Her voice quietened. "You know, I did my research later, when it was all done and dusted. I dug deep. It wasn't easy, let me tell you. Battalion Beta Red was the name. The name of the Hylian squadron that paid my village a visit." Her tone now reflected the sudden ugly twist in her facial features. "That came to _help._"

Beta Red. Known to the rest of the army as 'The Resistance,' their self-proclaimed nickname. Link hadn't actually met anyone from the group, but he'd heard the stories, both the good - especially about their commander who went by the name of Rusl - and the bad. The latter tended to focus on one particular member of the group, a thug by the name of Bosco.

An excellent fighter, Bosco had many Gerudo kills to his name. One time, after an apparently hopeless campaign that left many Hylians dead, he had arrived back at base wearing only a grin and the blood of his enemies. Impressive. Awe inspiring. But it was that very same ruthlessness that made him such a volatile personality off the battlefield.

Link turned his attention back to the Zora. Waves of shadow shimmered on the wall behind her head. "I've heard of them."

"Have you now?" Her voice curdled again. "They were happy to be alive, I think. Too happy. You know, yes? The kind of joy you feel sometime when you just throw off all restraint?"

"Not really."

Laruto blinked rapidly at this, caught momentarily off-guard. "Well. Anyway. They saw us, saw the way we were - and you have to remember, the only ones left in the village then were those of us who weren't in a fit state to fight - and they took a liking to us. To the women, in particular."

Link frowned. "They were all in on this? The squadron, I mean."

"No. There was a ringleader. A big guy."

"Bosco."

"I never got their names. Even after the research I did. Anyway, this one man, well, he wanted to have his way with the woman." Bitterness rang in her voice. "But their commander wouldn't allow it."

"That sounds about right."

"That didn't stop him, though."

Link blanched. "He actually...?"

"No. _No. _Not that. Sorry. I'm not telling this right. It's difficult."

"It's alright. Really."

A pensive shadow fell over Laruto's voice. "I remember it all so clearly. He - this 'Bosco,' if that's what his name was - brought out a canister. Plain, grey little thing it was. 'Experimental toxic weapon', he said. 'We're the only squadron who has it.'"

"I've not heard of it."

"You wouldn't have. You won't ever. I don't think it was used again after that day."

Link inhaled deeply. It was starting to become very clear where this story was going. "Bosco released it."

A scarlet flush of anger had reached Laruto's cheeks now. "He did." Tears glistened in her eyes. "'Experimental," he said. I remember it all so clearly. I wish I could scrub it out of my brain. 'Experimental. So how's about we have an experiment right here and now?'"

"Rusl," said Link. "His commander, I mean. He didn't try to stop him...?"

"The commander was angry, yes. But it was too late by then. They only had time to put on their masks. To protect _themselves. _I was pregnant at the time. When my son was eventually born..."

Link's mouth dried. He felt a wave of anger wash over him. It was the familiar kind - toothless and impotent. Helpless.

"They're not all like that."

"They're not heroes, either." Her eyes smouldered with repressed rage. "I just wanted to know something. From you. Just one question, like I said. Since you were there."

"Not _there. _If I'd been there, then -

"Then what?" Muscles in her face twitched. "Well...?"

The memory of how he'd stood by when Midna had handed Zelda over floated back into Link's head. "What's your question, Laruto?"

There seemed to be a hint of victory twinkling in her eye at his failure to reply. "I just to know _why._ Why would a person do it? I can't wrap my head around it. Why? For fun? _Why?!"_

"I don't know," Link replied. "I'm sorry."

"I am, too," she said. Her eyes were bloodshot. "For bothering you with this."

"Wait," he said. "Your son...?"

"Jace. He's alive. He just gets sick a lot. Infections. Coughing. Almost _all_ the time. All the other children avoid him. He's only six. I would spend all my time looking after him if I didn't have to hold down two positions just to have enough money. He should be out there playing with his friends. But he's stuck now. Stuck at home and sick. All. The. Time. They say he'll be lucky to reach his tenth birthday. What kind of life is that? What kind of future?"

She was breathing quickly now, fuelled by a tidal-wave of pure emotion. "You army people. You men and women. Your big ideas, your dreams. Thinking you're going to save the world. Thinking you're going to be heroes. Well, what about us, hmm? What about us little people?"

Link had nothing to say to any of that. What could he? Another apology would've been just trite. They held each other's gaze for a second longer. Laruto was the first to break it. She spun away, then strode out through the door, leaving Link to stand in silence as he watched her go.

...

Tetra and Saria had been given a room to share, as had the pirate crew, two to each chamber. Gortram, like Link, had been given his own room, though at the moment the Goron was out on a trip to the Bliss Beaches that he loved so much, courtesy of a free pass from Prince Ralis.

Lilac and purple coloured water filled the crystal furniture in Tetra's room, with the added bonus of a mini aquarium built into one wall. Hylian Roach with skin patterned with an ornate swirl darted in and out of schools of purple Loovar, all of whom were being watched over by the gliding form of a sleek looking indigo Gyorg.

Tetra, who had been staring into the tank lost in thought, tore her eyes away then began to circle around the room as she continued to ponder. Saria, who had been endlessly chatting away regardless of whether the pirate captain was paying attention or not, trotted after her.

"So, I'm thinking, yeah?" said Saria. "About how I'm always cracking jokes and being sarcastic. I reckon it's a defence mechanism. Because of my insecurities, yeah?"

"Don't be insecure, then," Tetra replied.

Saria stopped short in surprise. She hadn't expected the pirate lady to listen, let alone reply. She blinked as she played Tetra's words back in her head.

"Wow," she said. "That was blunt and straight to the point."

"No, I'm serious." Tetra stopped, too. She turned to face the younger girl. "You've got flaws? Brilliant. We all have. Welcome to life. You know what my Daddy Dearest said about flaws? He said they're only there so that we can overcome them. Not wallow in them. Even if it takes a lifetime."

Saria made a sour face. "Inspiring."

"Well, that's the trouble with people today. No forward momentum. They want to be left alone with their idiosyncrasies. We're 'only human', they'll say. Daddy dearest used to tell me that you're not human until you rise above yourself."

Saria looked unconvinced. "It's more laziness than inhumanity, yeah?"

"Or they're just fishing for pity." Tetra glanced at Saria. "You weren't doing that, were you? Fishing for pity?"

"No," Saria lied. "Of course not."

Tetra held her gaze a moment longer, then smiled. "Oh, don't mind me. Daddy dearest filled my head with all this kind of stuff. Hey, check this out."

Tetra strapped some sort of tech bracelet to her wrist, then began to push at the buttons.

Saria frowned. "I thought you lost your com...?"

"It's not a com," Tetra replied, her voice distracted. She unbuttoned a pouch on her belt. A triangular object began to rise from the pocket.

"The Triforce of Power..." Saria gasped.

Tetra grinned. "Uh-huh."

"You really did steal it from the princess? How?"

"Trade secret," Tetra replied. "Watch this."

Her fingers flickered over some more buttons. The Triforce piece began to spin slowly in mid-air. A golden glow lined its every edge.

"Whoa," Saria breathed. "You can manipulate it?"

"A bit," Tetra replied with a shrug. "It was how I got Prince Ralis to find us. Made it send out an energy pulse marked with my own unique signature. Pretty good, huh?"

Saria nodded. Tetra snatched the floating object out of the air, then placed it back in her belt pouch. "Imagine what I could do if I had the other two pieces, hmm?"

Saria made a disbelieving face. "You still after that? Link is never going to give his piece up."

"He still doesn't trust me, huh? I don't blame him. I wouldn't if I were him."

"What do you need it for? I thought you just wanted to juice your Eye in the Sky thing."

"I do," Tetra explained.

"But you've lost your ship. It had all your equipment. And don't tell me you're not upset about that, because I know you are."

"Fine!" the pirate woman spat. "I am. Happy now, little Miss Perceptive?"

Saria basked in the glow of the compliment. That it was harshly delivered didn't seem to bother her at all.

Tetra went on. "Just because I've lost my ship, it doesn't mean I don't still have the access codes to the Eye. I just need to get my hands on some good tech. Well. _Top _tech, to be honest."

"And then the Triforce?"

Tetra nodded. "And then the Triforce." There was a pause before the pirate captain suddenly changed tack. "So. The Purge."

Uncertainty flickered over Saria's features. "What about it?"

"You escaped. I did, too. You know how my family escaped?"

"Nope."

"There was still story we Sheikah used to tell one another when things got too dark. About a man - or woman - in armour, who would go around rescuing as many of us as he could. The Liberator, we called him. Or Armour Man." She gave a sheepish shrug. "We weren't very creative."

"Right. You're going to tell me this person saved your family, aren't you?"

Tetra grinned, her eyes shining. "Saw him with my own eyes."

Saria wasn't quite sure if the pirate captain was being serious or not. "What's brought all this up, anyway?"

"You were there," said Tetra, a harder edge in her voice. "During the Purge."

Saria's face fell. "Yeah."

"You must've been just a little girl. Like me."

"Yeah."

Bubbles fluttered in a chair nearby. There was another pause as Tetra eyed her younger companion carefully. "So why are you _still _a little girl?"

Saria blinked in surprise. "What?"

"You really aren't aware, are you?" Tetra craned in close. "Wow. What's messed your mental perceptions up, I wonder?"

Panic began to rise in Saria's voice. "What are you on about? What do you mean?"

"The Purge was twenty-one years ago. Twenty-one _years. _I was four. I'm guessing you were about the same age, too. It was just before I was sent away to all those posh Hylian schools. Zelda missed the whole thing. They'd sent her away a year earlier." Tetra shook her head. "But look at me, I'm rambling. This is about _you._"

Confusion creased Saria's brow. "Twenty-one years...? But...no. _No. _It was just a few years ago..."

Tetra didn't bother to ease her distress. "The other question, of course, is this: exactly how long has Captain Gortram known? From the beginning? He's been taking care of you for two decades?"

"Stop." Saria was trembling now. "Stop it."

"Or has he only come across you more recently? If so, why do you only have memories of the Purge?"

"STOP!" Tears fell from Saria's eyes. She shook a shaky step backward. "What _am_ I?"

"Sshh," Tetra soothed, kneeling in front of her and placing her hands on her shoulders. "Hey. Information's my game. We'll find this out."

"I'm so confused."

"You and me both." Tetra's ears pricked up. "I think someone's coming."

Saria hiccupped, then wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm sorry."

"My fault, really," Tetra said softly. "I just thought you might have known. I was wrong."

It was Prince Ralis who entered, sweeping through the doors with his entourage trailing humbly behind him. Tetra rose as he approached wearing a wide grin.

"Good news!" he said. "And bad, too."

Tetra favoured him with a level gaze. "Hit me."

"The man Ghirahim. The one we liberated you and the others from. He escaped. There's no trace of him."

"What about the girls? And the Zora he had as slaves?"

"Done and done. Taken care of, I mean. The Zora will take a little time to recover sadly. The women - well, they appear to have no memory of their imprisonment. They're wondering how they even got to the Domain. Their health and strength is slowly returning."

"Good," said Tetra. "That _was _the good news, right?"

"No. Well, it is, it's just not what I came here to tell you."

"Out with it, Ralis."

"Guests of honour. You and your friends. Tonight. At a very special showing of a play by the renowned Zora troupe The Indigo-Go's."

"Oh, joy," said Saria, voice blank.

"You must attend," Ralis said, ruffling Saria's hair. "All my staff are coming, free of charge. All in your honour. I may even have some candy for _you_, little one."

If looks could kill, then the Domain de Zora would've been a barren wasteland just right then based on the glare Saria was giving the prince.

Tetra glanced down at her with a smile, glad that she was at least recovering her old spark.

_Or has she just forgotten everything I just told her?_

Shunting the thought aside for later, Tetra looked back up at Ralis. "Okay, you're on." Her smile took on an edge of slyness. "You know I could never resist one of _your_ requests."

The prince hastily cleared his throat as pinpricks of scarlet flushed into life on each cheek. His entourage decided to cast their eyes anywhere else but at him.

"Please, Tetra," he said, voice low. "Not here."

Tetra winked at Saria. "You see this confident, smooth world leader here? I take all the credit. Before me, he was _such_ a wuss."

Prince Ralis slapped his palms together. "So!" he said, his voice unusually high. "It's settled then. I shall see you all tonight."

He was about to spin away in retreat when Tetra cut him off. "Hey."

The prince paused. "Yes?"

"Thanks," she said softly. "For the rescue."

He smiled. "I hope it's worth it. Prince Midna has been looking for you. Well, mainly your mining crew friends. I doubt she's going to be too pleased with me, let me tell you."

"I'm sure you'll handle her," Tetra replied with a smile. "Like I said. Thanks."

...

Stars smeared the night sky, their lustre blotted out by the immense spotlights honed in on the stage that sat dead centre in the immense field. Sometimes the spray from the Zora Falls would catch in the light, twinkling sharply like shards of crystal or ice. The play was being held outside and aboveground. Link wasn't paying much attention, though. He hadn't even noticed when it had started. Or the speech Prince Ralis had given beforehand.

Link and his friends were seated at the front. Behind them a crowd of Zora sat in a semi-circle shaped enclosure. Up on stage, a female Zora was spinning on the tips of her toes while her male companion knelt at one knee and filled the air with his deep song. Link had no idea what was going on. He'd missed the plot entirely. Judging from the laughs and gasps from the crowd, however, it all seemed to be going well.

Link glanced to his left. Tetra sat transfixed next to a smiling Prince Ralis. Saria looked just as caught up in the whole show. Mako had taken _his_ interest one step further - he seemed to have cobbled together some sort of pictovid capture device and had the thing clutched in his raised right hand as he happily recorded the whole show. Captain Gortram, fresh from his trip to the Bliss Beaches, looked utterly bored and the rest of the pirate crew wore expressions of such complete bemusement that Link had to look away or risk embarrassing them all by bursting out in laughter.

He felt a nudge in his heart as he wondered where the missing member of their friendship was right at that exact moment. He'd been certain Navi would find them eventually. That's why they'd decided to stick around a little longer in the Domain. But soon even he'd have to give up hope, and they would move on. Tetra was already prepared. She was apparently planning to sweet-talk the prince into giving them one of ships.

_Where are you, Navi? And where's Zelda?_

A ripple of applause brought Link back into another train of thought, one that he'd been pursuing since his conversation with Laruto earlier that day.

Truth be told, despite all the stories, Link hadn't really thought that Bosco was all that bad. Young, naive and only wanting to do the 'right thing' - which at that time was just to smash the Gerudo - Link had admired Bosco's aggression back at the Academy, and the big man's practical jokes had been one of those quirks you just lived with. Though they'd never met face-to-face, Link had spent a lot of time watching the soldier spar. He'd even cheered him on, wide-eyed; maybe he'd even encouraged the man's more forceful tendencies, though from a distance.

That's what made this all the worse.

The play was in full swing now, with most eyes fixed firmly on the stage. He spied Saria laughing and smiling at all the right places, and found himself feeling quite warmed at the sight.

_At least one of us is problem free and having a good time._

Link leaned over to Prince Ralis. "I'm just going for a little stroll. Get some air."

Ralis, barely noticing, waved his assent. Link's actions had drawn Tetra's attention, though.

_Air? _she mouthed. She threw up her palms to indicate that there was nothing _but_ air out here.

_It's nothing, _he mouthed back. _Don't worry._

Link felt Tetra's suspicious eyes on his back as he made his exit. It was hard to hide yourself in such a big crowd, especially if you were one of the guests and more so if you stuck out for being a Hylian.

Good thing, then, that the crowd was totally engrossed, _ooh_-ing and _aah_-ing at every twist, some swaying in time to the gentle music swirling in the air. Link approached a stall selling sizzling fish and crispy, roasted vegetables. Fierce heat shimmered in the air as he walked by. Another vendor nearby was being mobbed by children - bored from the proceedings on stage - as they tried to hand over coin in sweaty palms in order to purchase any one of the brightly coloured toys that he had on display.

Link continued to walk, his expertly trained eyes searching. Grass wet from the never-ending mist flung from the waterfalls nearby crunched and bent under his boots. It didn't take him long to spot Laruto and the little boy sitting next to her. He stopped. Hanging back in the shadows, Link kept his eyes fixed upon the pair.

The boy Jace sat huddled against his mother's side, safely tucked under Laruto's arm. Every few seconds he would break into a fit of coughs and splutters, so much so that those around him began to edge away; a few even cast looks of disapproval, though most were filled with pity. Laruto clearly didn't care for either reaction: her face betrayed both her worry for her son and her dismay at the reaction he was getting.

The boy's coughing stirred bad memories deep in Link's heart. His own childhood illness was probably nothing like Jace's. To this day, Link didn't know what had caused it, or how it had been cured. All he knew was that the more time he'd spent with Zelda, the more he'd grown in confidence, the less and less his illness had been until it had vanished altogether.

He still remembered it, though, remembered it keenly. Not just how it made it feel, but the reactions it had stirred in anyone in close vicinity. As such, his empathy with Jace was piercing.

He noticed something else, too. Jace was staring at the toy vendor, his eyes filled with undisguised longing. Every so often his mother would notice, and her cheeks would pinch, her eyes sad. Gently, she would try to turn his head away. Link didn't even pause to think. He headed over to the stand.

"Hey," Link said as the man at the stall looked up in surprise. "You take Hylian currency?"

The vendor looked aghast. "Money from you? No! Never! You are the prince's guest! For you, it is free."

"No, no. Really. It's alright."

The vendor held up both palms. "I cannot accept. No. Not at all."

Link pursed his lips. "Fine. It's free. But not for me, okay?"

Relief seemed to flutter over the man's face. "Well, I did wonder. A niece or nephew, perhaps?"

Link ignored him. "I want you to head on over and give it to that little boy right there." He pointed.

The vendor shrugged. "For a guest of the prince? Anything. Any particular item you're after?"

"Your best one. The one all the kids want."

Spotlights gleamed off of the Zora's grey skin as he nodded. Link watched as the man pondered over his wares, one finger tapping on the side of his chin. He picked one toy up - some sort of huge reproduction of a Hylian Navy Battlecruiser - and headed over to Laruto.

Jace shrank back as the toy was presented to him, igniting more bad memories for Link. The Zora maidservant blinked in surprise. The little boy looked up at his mother, then, after receiving some murmured words of encouragement from her, took it gingerly, his face lighting up. Link noticed Laruto speaking urgently to the vendor and so made to leave - but it was too late. The man had already pointed him out.

Laruto's eyes found his. Her face was unreadable, her gaze hard. A moment later she squeezed her son's shoulder, then glanced down at him, smiling genuinely at Jace's newfound delight.

Link still felt his heart sink. Had he really thought that that would fix everything? It seemed like such a shallow gesture now. Desperate, even.

He vaguely recalled Zelda telling him to make his actions beautiful, even if those actions were something small.

_I hope it still counts, Zelda. I really do._

Voices stirred in commotion behind him. Link turned, then frowned. Something was going in, and it was happening exactly at the point where he'd left his friends behind. He jogged over quickly, but it was a pale-faced Saria who reached him first.

"Link, quick!" she gasped. "It's Gortram!"

"What is it?" he said. "What's wrong?"

Saria looked on the verge of tears. "These Gorons just showed up. Gorons in uniforms. They've taken Gortram."

"Taken him?" He began to break into a sprint. "Why?"

Saria ran, too. "I don't know!"

"They must've said _something,_ Saria!"

The girl's head slowly began to turn from side to side in shock. "I...they said...They said he's being taken into Goron custody, Link." Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. "Basically, he's been placed under arrest."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The director stood behind his minions, alert and prepared. They wouldn't forget this show. Not tonight. As the final moments began to tick down, the director found that even his thoughts took on a dramatic flair.

_First there's the awed hush of anticipation deep within the dark, then the thin line of anticipation pulled taut. After that, comes the voice. **My **voice:_

"And we are _live _in 5...4...3...2...1...GO!"

A bank of pictovid screens flickered to life, row upon row of ghostly, shimmering light that ate into the darkness of the room. Theme music, catchy and memorable as ever, swelled in the background. The minions sat hunched in front of the screens pushed buttons and twisted dials. Some of them even tapped their feet in time to the song.

The screens all depicted the same thing: a bird's eye view of the mouth of a tunnel, holding there for an instant, just before the pictocam swept through the opening, picking up speed as blurred buildings lined with glowing crimson energy hurtled by. Millions all over Hyrule began to tune in.

"Beautiful," the unseen director murmured. His eyes reflected the images from the myriad screens. "Beautiful."

This was Fire Mountain, home of the Gorons. While the Mining Facility itself sat perched atop the volcano, the Gorons lived deep inside, within tunnels dug carefully around the mountain's lava core. Homes, factories and offices were built into the tunnel walls - all the way around, in fact - with Goron patented anti-grav tech making sure that those that dwelled on the roof of the tunnel didn't tumble embarrassingly onto those that lived below.

The hollow centre of each tunnel - or 'the sky' as the Gorons labelled it - was awash with shimmering images of light, each one enticing the viewer to log onto the DataNet via their domestic fairy in order to sample the latest and greatest that the Gorons had to offer. Fire Mountain was the manufacturing centre of Hyrule. Whatever you were after, whether it was the latest tech or the newest child's toy, you'd find it here. _Guaranteed._

"Okay, great," the director said. "Opening titles perfect as usual. Let's get into the main course."

The pictocam settled on a medium shot of a well-lit stage hemmed in by a sea of cheering people. The crowd, though mostly Goron, did seem to contain a sample of every other race under the Hyrulean sun.

"Louder," the director said. "Get those people louder."

Off-camera, the floor manager held up a sign with the word 'CHEER' marked on it. The crowd roared. Pyro exploded above the stage. A troop of dancing Goron girls marched into view in perfect synchronisation.

"Beautiful. Now on let's bring in the main man in 3...2...1...GO!"

The audience exploded once again as the Goron host slid expertly into sight. He did a little jig on the spot, then, with a slash of his hand over his throat, signalled for the music to stop.

"Welcome everyone!" the host screamed. "Welcome everyone to this week's _Trial of the Century!"_

A stream of text rolled across the bottom of the screen as the host talked: _Trial of the Century is a weekly pictovid show recorded in front of a live audience. Disclaimer: the term 'century' is for promotional purposes only and is not intended to reflect any accurate historical or statistical marker._

"And today," the host continued. "Boy, do we have a doozy for _you_!" He jabbed a plump finger in the pictocam's direction. "I'm not kidding - we've really pulled out the stops for this one." An expectant hush fell over the crowd. The host milked it expertly by dragging out the pause. Intensely bright lights glistened off of his brow.

"Today's felon," he went on, "is quite unique. Yes, _quite _unique, folks. In spite of our history of showcasing the worst of life's fiendish depravity on this, our most top-rated show, this guy takes the cake." He paused for effect once again, replacing one fixed smile with another from his endless repertoire. "What do you say, people, would you like to meet today's criminal?"

He had put so much emphasis on the last word that it came out as 'criminal-LAH' and was the cue for the audience to provide a raucous assent.

The host cupped a hand to his ear. "I can't _heaaaaaar yooooou._ I _said, _would you _like _to _meet_ today's _criminaaaaaal?"_

This time the crowd reached a near-frenzy of noise as it strove to get its point across. The host grinned at the response. "Well, then, so do I! Can we dim the lights, please?!"

A massive metallic _clunk _followed. The stage and audience were plunged into darkness- all except for one spot where light pooled around a lone figure looking utterly forlorn, head bowed, his wrists bound in thick steel cuffs.

"You want to tell us your name, son?"

"Son?" the prisoner growled as he looked up. "You're young enough to be still taken over my knee to have some discipline whacked into ya. Snag?"

The crowd gasped. "Oooh," said the host, delighted. "Isn't he a feisty one?"

"Perfect," the director said as he watched from his studio. "Put on a show for us, thaaaat's it."

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Goron host continued. "Let's greet Captain Gortraaaaaam." His voice suddenly dropped to an icy, harsh whisper. "Now, dear Captain. Are you going to fess up, or should I spill the beans on your behalf?"

"The blue blazes is this farce?" said Gortram. "I've done nothin' wrong to my people."

"Folks," the host went on as though Gortram hadn't even said a word. "You won't believe this. No, you _will not _believe this." The audience, still in darkness, shifted restlessly in anticipation. "Listen. No, come on, closer. Lend me your ears. Like I said, this one will shock you." He licked his lips theatrically. "Captain Gortram of the Goron Mining Co. is the first Goron in _history _to stand accused... of - get this - celebrity slander."

A chorus of boos and hisses greeted this bombshell, and the unseen director smiled in satisfaction. "Perfect," he said to his minions. "Tomorrow's lunch is on me, folks. Our ratings are going to go through the _roof_. We'll be getting sponsors banging our doors down. Superstardom beckons, I tell you. I'll finally be able to get the wife that new family barge she's been nagging me about. Might get my girlfriend a diamond while I'm at it. Okay...cut to commercial in 5...4...3...2..."

...

Princess Midna turned away from the pictovid screen showing _Trial of the Century. _"Turn that off," she said, her voice hollow and metallic. "Chancellor?"

"At once, Your Highness. At once." He sprang into life to do her bidding. In contrast, the pictovid died soon after, starved of energy.

She couldn't quite place the source of her morose mood. This whole thing with the Gorons had been her idea, after all. Cole had been the one to unearth the secret files on the Goron captain, and they'd duly passed the intel on to the Goron Council; yet, still Princess Midna couldn't find the warm shelter of satisfaction or feel the thrill of victory.

"Ma'am," Cole ventured after a moment. "Do you think the mining crew will escape this? You did say you _wanted _them to go on and face Dragmire, did you not?"

"I did," she replied, voice blank. "And they will. It's only their captain that'll bear the worst of it. Who knows? It might spur them on to find the Gerudo all the faster."

"Then," the Chancellor said after another moment of careful deliberation, "What is it that's bothering you?"

Midna blinked. "It's that obvious?"

Chancellor Cole bowed his head and shuffled backward. "It's not my place to say."

"But you _have_ said." She sighed. "That's not what was bothering me, no."

The two of them were alone in a sheltered bunker deep beneath the palace. Bare metallic walls enclosed them in all sides and the dusty floor bore the mark of their steps. The palace's generators hummed loudly nearby filling the musty air with the ozone tang of discharged energy.

All around them, encased in boxes, stacked on shelves, or contained in specially constructed cells, was all the experimental tech she'd had commissioned over the years, both the ones that had worked and the ones that hadn't.

The centrepiece of her collection was the special cannonball, the one her eyes were fixed upon now, held in a room behind special reinforced glass. The cannonball that had enough power to wipe out all life on Hyrule.

_All life._

And, then, finally she pinpointed exactly what it was that was bothering her. She identified the feeling pushing its cold, clammy fingers into her heart. She'd not noticed it before because she'd never experienced it before.

_Doubt._

"Am I doing the right thing, Cole?" she said, her voice uncharacteristically soft and quiet. "If my plan fails and Zelda returns here with the Master Sword, should I really consign everyone to death?"

Chancellor Cole was also staring hard at the thermonuclear cannonball, but his eyes, as ever when faced with the device, shone with a mixture of naked lust and raw hungry. "Oh, _yes, _Highness, _yes!_ You said it yourself - Hyrule would be better off dead without you in control."

Her brow rippled in a frown. "I really said that?"

Cole's face flushed. "Well, ah, not in those exact words. But you _did _imply it."

Midna sighed. The doubt gnawed at her soul. "Perhaps I was overcome with emotion...?"

The chancellor looked aghast. "No, no, no. This is _not _like you, Highness. Not like you at all. Come, let me show you something to take your mind off these matters."

"What are you talking about, Cole?"

The chancellor had a glint in his eye as he pulled a large window sized device into view. The tiny rolling wheels holding it up squeaked and the clear covering crackled with the movement. It looked nothing more like a full-sized portrait, except that there was nothing at all to see on the glossy-black canvas.

Chancellor Cole looked very much like the cat that had got the cream. He cleared his throat in preparation. "Remember, Highness? How we assigned a specific piece of new military tech to each squadron? And how we wired it so only members of that squadron could utilise it?"

"I do," she replied, nodding. "That was an age ago, Cole. Not all the teams got their tech, either. We had to put a stop to it due to some incident with a chemical weapon canister."

Cole's nod was more vigorous. "Right, right, yes. Absolutely. But _this_ -" he indicated the new tech he'd just pulled free "- was meant for Squadron Alpha Blue."

"Link's squadron." Her eyes funnelled in on the machine. "Remind me."

Cole licked his quivering lips. "A time gate, Ma'am."

The princess snapped her fingers. "Yes! I recall now. A _space _and time gate. It only had the capacity for one trip - there and back."

"And only the soldier using it could decide where and when to go." He took a large breath. "The plan was to go back and assassinate Dragmire before came to power."

Midna rubbed her chin. "We never ended up giving it to Alpha Blue?"

"No, Ma'am," Cole replied. "Project: Ocarina was shelved."

"So Link doesn't know about it." Threads of an idea began to weave within her mind. "But he's the only one that can use it."

Whatever plan she had in mind, Chancellor Cole clearly hadn't clicked on to it. "Don't you see, Ma'am? This is why I wanted to show this to you." He seemed gripped by his own eagerness. "You were willing to violate the whole of space and time - _the whole of space and time -_in order to secure victory. You do what's necessary - with all due respect, _that's _the Princess Midna we all love, respect and admire."

The princess's eyes flicked from the Ocarina device to the cannonball nuke and then back again. "Do what's necessary..." she whispered. "Yes..." A slow smile spread across her lips. "_Yes."_

...

Not everyone shared the enthusiasm of the audience attending that day's _Trial of the Century _recording. There were some who sat in stony silence, either appalled, lost in their own musings, or as Zuko the tech-pirate put it: "Iz a _bad_ feeling about this."

Tetra looked his way. "What?"

"Mizz Tetra," said Zuko unhappily, his voice small. "I iz not like this. Not like it all."

"Relax," the pirate captain replied. "It's not us we should be worried about."

"I'm with him, Miss Tetra," Niko added. Apprehension swam in his eyes. "I just get this gloomy feeling. Like something _really _bad is going to happen."

"Wow," she replied, shaking her head. "You're all unusually sentimental today. Leave it out, will you?"

They didn't look happy, but her two crewmen lapsed into silence. Tetra gazed down at the show below. She resisted the urge to snort. Show? Gortram was right - 'farce' was more like it.

They were sat on plush seats in a gallery high above the stage, a wall of glass separating them from shenanigans below. Captain Tetra folded her arms. Prince Ralis had been told not to interfere in 'Goron business' but he had, at the very least, managed to secure passage for all of them to Fire Mountain. Had somehow convinced the Gorons to treat them with a modicum of respect, too.

_That's Ralis for you. What a doll._

"You know," she said, "in Sheikah culture there's this belief about this horrible place where damned souls go after death for eternal suffering. Well, I imagine it'd just be like this."

The crowd reacted loudly to something the loudmouthed Goron host had just said.

Saria's knuckles had blanched from how tightly she'd clenched her fists. "Why are they treating this like a game? What's wrong with these people?"

"Luv," said Senza as he leaned back lazily in his chair. He had his mud-caked boots perched against the glass in front, smearing the window as a result. "Fire Mountain isn't just the merch capital of Hyrule, you know."

"Aye," added Gonzo. "You know all the pictovid shows that go around Hyrule on a daily basis?"

Saria caught the drift. "The Gorons?"

"Guilty as charged." Gonzo grinned. "They set them up, they fund them, they produce them. Sometimes - rarely - they take part in 'em, too."

"Like this one?"

Tetra joined the thread with a nod. "Like this one, yeah. They _love _this stuff. And the rest of Hyrule just eats it all up."

Link's voice was quiet when he next spoke. "It's just as bad as Gortram thought it would be."

Tetra glanced his way. "What's that?"

"Nothing," Link replied with a shake of his head. "Hey, look. Something's happening."

The pictocams below had swung around to face the Goron host. His had his grin bolted back in place as a gaggle of assistants brushed and powdered his face. A Goron out of shot began a silent countdown with his fingers, closing each one from five. The host shooed his helpers away. Music began to play. Someone held up a sign that read 'APPLAUSE.'

"_Annnnnnnnnnnd _we now return to _Trial of the Century! _Thank you, kind sponsors! Be sure to get your domestic fairy to scope out _those _bargains on the DataNet, whaddya say?" He paused mid-grin. "So today it's all about...well, let's just show you, hey?"

A transparent image of a slender Zora came to life in mid-air. This was enough to melt the audience into an avalanche, closely followed by more masculine cheers, wolf-whistles and the occasional high-pitched squeal.

"That's right," the host continued, winking. "We all know who this is. We all know the _impact _this superstar has had on our lives, our relationships, even the way we dress. We've all had our hearts touched _just _in the right spot, haven't we?"

The crowd were eager to voice their agreement. The Goron host went on. "Who knows more about the affairs of love? Whose songs have melted even the most frozen of souls? Who has smashed _all_ records since going solo from the Indigo Go Go's? Why, _Lulu, _of course!"

The roar from the crowd was intense. Tetra narrowed her eyes. "Interesting," she murmured. "Link, what do you see?"

"Um," he replied with a shrug. "Some Zora girl."

"Saria?"

"Girl?" the young miner replied. "That's a guy! Not a bad looking one, either. For a Zora."

Tetra's smile held no humour. "Perception-filtering tech. The Zora is what you want him...or her...to be. Tap into all possible audiences. Maximise the profits. Clever."

As the audience began to die down, the host took charge again. "Everyone loves Lulu, right? Yeah? Everyone?" He swept his arm out toward the prisoner, finger pointing accusingly. "Well, not Captain Gortram!"

The crowd's collective gasp was quickly replaced by a murmur of repressed fury. Gortram's eyes blazed as the spotlight fell upon him. He looked up in defiance.

"I've met her," he spat. "I met her. Years ago. Twenty-odd years ago. Yeah, that's some impressive facial tech she's got going there to look so young, you snag?"

The host was slowly shaking his head. "Can you _believe_ this guy?"

Unfazed, Gortram ploughed on, his confidence gaining with every word. "I met her. Backstage at one of her shows. Snapping at the guy who brought her the wrong drink. Kicking the pyro girl for getting her timings wrong. Yeah, I saw her. Saw how she treated all the little people around her. Saw how she talked to them." Chin raised, Gortram slowly stared around at the audience.

"She's scum," he explained. "She's laughing at you. You think she believes a single word she sings about? All she cares about is the coin you throw at her. The blue blazes is wrong with you all? Do you honestly think she's the same person in real life as she is on screen?"

A shrill voice called from the crowd. "He's too pretty to be mean."

"YEAH!" cried the rest.

High above, Link leaned over to Tetra. "I don't get it. Don't they hear Gortram addressing her as a 'she'?"

Tetra turned to her crew. "Mako?"

"Perception filter's cleverer than that," the tech-pirate replied. "Distorts our hearing, too. You, me and the boys are hearing 'she'...but Miss Tetra and Saria?"

"We're hearing 'he'," Saria confirmed.

Gortram was speaking again. "Hey," he called. "Hey! If she wasn't famous - if _any _of the trash you people worship weren't famous - you wouldn't give them the time of day."

"You're just jealous!" someone riposted from the crowd.

"Jealous?" Gortram growled. "She was just in the right place at the right time."

Another audience member piped in. "Rubbish! She works hard at what she does."

"Yeah, she works hard," the captain countered. "But guess what? Other people work _harder _for _less_ doing things _far _more impo-"

"Sorry to butt in," the host intervened. "But I'm just getting word that pictograph superstar Malon of LonLon _still _hasn't slimmed down to her pre-pregnancy shape, even though she gave birth _two whole weeks ago. _Shocking. Don't say we don't provide you with the very _latest _news on _this _show, folks."

Anger roiled off the crowd. "She should be ashamed of herself!" said one. "Doesn't she know she has standards?" said another. "She's supposed to be a role model!"

"Now, now," the host cut in. "Let's not get carried away. After all, she's almost as big as us Gorons now! Ha!"

Faint laughter rippled from the audience. Up above, Tetra watched with eyes down to slits atop pinched cheeks. "I feel sick."

"_Now_," the host screamed. "Back to _Trial of the Century! _Today we have Captain Gortram who stands accused of celebrity slander. Sadly Lulu couldn't be here with us today, but she did promise anyone watching today a _free _autographed picture to ever one who logs into her DataNet site in the next hour and orders over fifty rupees of quality merch!"

"Awright!" someone cried from the audience.

"But wait," said the host. "Let's not be hasty. Let's not judge straight away. Perhaps there's some deep, dark secret that's warped Captain Gortram's mind? Come to think of it, how _did _he become captain of a Goron mining ship, anyway? Care to explain..._General Darunia_?"

The crowd gasped as the pictocams and the lights swept across the stage to land upon a bulky looking Goron with a grizzled face. He was dressed in smart military gear, medals glistening under the blazing light. He scowled further at all the attention.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the host crooned. "Give a big hand to General Darunia of the Hyrulean Alliance! Retired, of course. General, lovely to see you here. Charmed. But, tell us, what is _your_ link to the criminal?"

Darunia looked clearly uncomfortable. "This is classified stuff."

"Oh come _on_," said the host. "It's all been cleared by the Goron Council. We're the Gorons, remember? Everyone loves us. We oil the wheels of Hyrulean culture. Not even Princess Midna would take any action against us."

Darunia's glower was enough to tell everyone what he thought about that. Nonetheless, he began to speak. "I pulled some strings. I made him a captain. Hid his records, too." His glare was just as defiant as Gortram's. "He's a good man, I say. A _good man._"

"Well, come now," said the host. "That's not true, is it? After all...celebrity slander is not the only crime he's committed, is it?"

The General's face had darkened like thunderclouds blotting out the midday sun. "Must we go through with this?"

"It's why you're here, sir." An insincere smile underscored the sliminess in the host's voice. "Under orders, of course. Wouldn't want to offend the Goron Council now, would we? And, more importantly, we wouldn't want to disappoint the _millions_ watching at home!" He threw the nearest pictocam a conspiratorial wink. The audience cheered.

Darunia's face twitched. "Very well," he said. "I've known Gortram since he was a pup. I was like a brother to him, a _sworn _brother. When I joined the Royal Brigade, he desperately wanted to follow in my footsteps. Never happened, though. Something changed his mind. Something I showed to him one day when I was giving him a tour of our base. There was -"

"Sorry to interrupt you there, General," the host cut in, one finger pressed against his ear. "But I'm just getting word that...yes!...you wonderful people at home have set a new network ratings record! Ten million! Give yourselves a round of applause - you deserve it, you beautiful people!"

The crowd whooped in delight. "Thank you, thank you," said the host. "Back to you, General."

Darunia seethed. "There was a piece of machinery we were working on. 'We' being the Goron R&D arm of the Hyrulean Alliance. We were only with them in name, though. Completely autonomous, otherwise.

"Anyway, a new type of tech, yes? I showed Gortram the prototype. An _organic_ android that resembled a living being in every little way except one. It's heart was that of a machine, you see. It had no _soul,_ to put it bluntly. So we developed a device alongside it. Another prototype. One that would transfer the memories, biometric data, characteristics and - we hoped- the _essence_ of a living being into this prototype."

Far above in the gallery, Saria watched intently. She felt the world all around Darunia began to melt away. Her heart thudded. She listened to it carefully. For some reason, she felt she had to.

"We had a dual plan for the android," said Darunia. "Sell it to Princes Midna to use as potential soldiers was the first option."

The host nodded. "Interested, was she?"

"Very. She wanted to transfer her existing army into the new tech. You see, she'd have an army of soldiers who could die over and over. So long as the mechanical heart survived - and, trust me, that thing was designed to survive - then it could be reconstructed. It didn't matter to her how much pain that would involve."

"A beautiful plan, I'm sure you'd all agree, folks. Right?" He waited till the crowd noise - all positive and in approval, of course - died away, then said, "And what was depraved Captain Gortram's reaction to all that?"

"He didn't know anything about it." That was true - it was evident from the shocked expression hanging from the mining captain's face just right then. "It was our second purpose that got his ire up. We were going to mass produce the android. Sell it to our own for their use."

"As slaves!" Gortram cried. The audience turned toward him as one. "You know how we Gorons are. We would have used them as slaves while we sat about watching pictovids and ordering _junk _off the DataNet. You _know _that's what we'd have used it for. It had blood. Real organs. It...I just couldn't..."

"Gortram stole both devices," Darunia went on, his voice blank. "Not many people knew it was him. Like I said, I had the records sealed away."

The host theatrically raised his eyebrows. "And did you not once, General Darunia, ask your _brother_ what he'd done with the machine? With both machines?"

"No," the general replied, his eyes fixed on the host.

"Why not?"

"Maybe I agreed with him. It took me a while, but maybe I did." Darunia held his head high. "Maybe I then had all the plans for both machines destroyed."

"Well, good thing you're not on trial today, General, though there's always next week, huh?" As the crowd digested all this in shock, the host spun around to face Gortram. "And what about it, Gortram? What _did_ you do with the prototype android? Where is it now?"

As Saria watched, her numb heart sinking, she felt Tetra's fingers interlock with hers and squeeze.

"It's gone," said Gortram. "Destroyed. The prototype was flawed. It wouldn't grow beyond a certain age."

"And whose life did you transfer into it before that happened?"

"No one's."

"Lies!" The host's eyes glinted in merciless glee. "We know all about it. A little bird told us, shall we say. You know...about you and the Badlands?"

Gortram's grim silence was heralded by yet another melodramatic sigh from the audience. "Fine," he spat through clenched teeth. His voice was low but threaded with steel. "The truth had to come out one day."

The host grinned. "That's what this show is for!"

Gortram ignored him. His eyes glanced up to the gallery. He seemed to be addressing his words up there. "I met a woman in the Badlands. A Sheikah woman. Her daughter...she was dying, they both were...I took the girl's memories with the other device and carried them around with me."

"For how long?"

"Years. The mother died first. She made me promise to care for her daughter. I couldn't fulfil that promise without taking the girl's memories and doing the transfer. I did the first on the spot...but the second. It took me years to make that move."

Glee spread over the Goron host's face. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. Hypocrisy exposed!"

"I _promised _her!"

"And what did you do with your newfound living android? Make her your slave like you said _we_ would do? Hmm? Your own little Sheikah slave - the tech must've taken on the girl's biometric data, right?"

"I _told _you," Gortram said quietly, throwing a solitary glance up at the gallery. "The prototype was flawed. I had it destroyed. There's no trace of it. No one will find a single trace. It's gone, you snag?"

Saria sat ashen-faced. Tears had pooled in her eyes. She was aware that both Tetra and Link were trying to talk to her, but she just couldn't comprehend their words. Her mind had gone completely numb. Again her heart boomed in her ears. Was it her imagination or did it sound more like a clock now - all winding gears and ticking joints?

"The Badlands," the host continued. "Tell us more about what you did there."

"I went to help."

"The Sheikah? Even though the princess forbade it?"

"I did what was right."

"Really? Were you..._this_, for example?"

Now it was Tetra's turn to be struck by shock. Her eyes widened as the new image floated in the air: A hulking shape, a man in a home-made steel mask, his body covered in hastily clad mismatched metal plates.

"Armour man," she breathed, slowly standing. "You are kidding me - _he _was the Liberator?!"

Link frowned. "What?"

"It's him. It was _him_ all along. I don't believe this. He saved my life."

"Captain _Gortram _saved your life?"

"My family's life. In the Purge." Now she slowly began to descend back into her seat. "And countless others."

Link watched, dumbstruck, as newfound admiration stirred within him. Gortram had kept all this hidden. _Captain Gortram! _Why _would_ he tell, after all? He didn't need, or want, the attention. Link blinked. Gortram didn't have to angst over doing what was beautiful - he just went ahead and did it. Quietly. Efficiently. He was a real hero.

The irritating screech of the host's voice interrupted their thoughts. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it - the horrid secrets that led Gortram to commit celebrity slander. Do you see now? This man is someone who thinks he's _above _the rest of us. Someone who thinks _he _can decide what's right for the Goron people. Well, for the whole of Hyrule itself. No wonder he has the ego to think he can criticise our precious Lulu!"

The audience turned their ire onto Gortram, hurling insults wrapped in jeers.

The host soaked it all in. "Now it's time for _your _favourite part!"

This was enough to turn the crowd completely around. They began to chant, pumping their fists in time to their own words. "JUS-TICE! JUS-TICE! JUS-TICE!"

"That's right! For _your _entertainment, _we_ are not going to judge whether Gortram is innocent or guilty. After all, we're civilised people, and we just don't do that sort of thing."

Tetra frowned. "What?"

"There's only one way to settle this!" The host swung his gaze around in a theatrical manner. "Only one way to find out whether he's guilty or innocent!"

"JUS-TICE! JUS-TICE! JUS-TICE!"

"Absolutely!" the host grinned manically. "The Tunnel of Justice! He just has to come out of it alive. If he does he's surely innocent. And if he doesn't...well, it doesn't really matter, does it?" He giggled, then eyed the pictocam. "But all our regular viewers know, though, that in the Tunnel of Justice, there's only thing that's certain: Somebody. Always. _Dies!"_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"I dun like school," a four-year-old Tetra Harkinian declared as she played with multi-coloured wooden blocks on the rug. She imagined the painted squares to be rocks. She herself was sat under the room's only table. In her mind, it was a stony bridge, the type you might find an ugly troll hiding under. Not that she was a troll or anything.

Her mother knelt down beside her and spoke in a gentle voice. A warm fire crackled in the hearth nearby. "Why's that, honey?"

"I dun like being laughed at."

"Who's laughing at you?"

"The other kids," she replied, looking up. "They dun want to be my friends."

Her mother glanced over at her husband, her eyes pleading for help. He was sat cross-legged on the floor, eyes closed and with his palms placed flat on his knees. Draped in the deep blue of the Sheikah he expertly exuded a sense of utter detachment.

"Could you stop that?" she said, irritation raw in her voice. She wasn't Sheikah. Though she'd considered his antics quaint and exotic when they'd been courting, now she just felt utterly fed up by it all. Being hunted did that to you. "Please? Just for a moment, Daphnes?"

Daphnes's eyelids fluttered but remained firmly shut. "I'm meditating, Din."

"Your daughter needs you. She's only four and she's worried about having no friends."

Daphnes finally opened his eyes. The fire popped and hissed in the pause he left before speaking. "She'll have friends all right. They both will. I saw a vision. When it comes time for Zelda to face the Threat, she'll be with friends."

"I wan' Zelda!" Tetra said, hearing the mention of her half-sister's name. "Where she gone?"

Din had her attention fixed firmly on her husband. "I wasn't talking about _Nayru's_ daughter. I was talking about Tetra."

"Her, too," her husband replied. "If it turns out that _she's _the Destined One."

Din made a gargle of exasperation in the back of her throat. "See, you don't even _know! _And what if Tetra doesn't turn out to be special? She'll be friendless? Is that what you're saying?"

"She'll be loved, too, don't you worry," Daphnes said with a smile. "Threads upon threads, all entwined. It's quite amazing. You see, they'll both meet people as children that they'll encounter again as adults."

"That's really not that amazing, Daphnes."

He laughed. The sound surprised Din. She hadn't heard it in so long. She missed it.

"But when it all comes together," he continued. "That's when it'll be time. To rise against the Threat. It's...I don't know. It's how everything will fall into place. Everything's connected."

"Connected." She mulled the word over. "Like this, you mean?" Din held up a child's drawing. One half was cast in a golden glow courtesy of the family fire. "Zelda gave it to Tetra, you know. Before you had her sent her away with Nayru. Tetra won't let go of it. This...boy...in the picture... The one Zelda's marked with an 'L.' It's someone Zelda's going to meet later?"

"Where's Zelda?" Tetra insisted, smacking two blocks together for emphasis. "Where is she?"

"Possibly," Daphnes replied, talking over his daughter. "An echo from the future rippling into the past."

Din sighed. "I hate it when you get like this. What are you saying? It's fate? Destiny?"

Daphnes shrugged. "I can't explain the power that's guiding the affairs of our family, darling. I just know it's there."

"I'm not happy about any of this."

"Neither am I, Din, neither am I." Trepidation suddenly filled his eyes. "Do you think I _want _this for either Tetra or Zelda? Don't you think I'd rather we all be one big, normal Sheikah family?"

"I don't know! You see rather _eager _about it all." Din's jaw clenched as she struggled to find the right words. It had been something that had been brewing within her for a very long time. "Have you considered...haven't you wondered that your visions just might be...wrong?"

Daphnes cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_," she replied testily. "They seem to inspire you to make some very _extreme_ choices. Like sending Nayru and Zelda away. And they seem to come at quite random times. Remember when we went down to Kokiri? And you just pointed out some Hylian woman? What was her name...?"

"Farore."

"Yes," said Din. "Farore. You said _her _offspring would be important, too. You used that specific word as well. Offspring. It's just 'children' to us _normal _people, you know."

"Or one child."

Din frowned. "What?"

Daphnes' eyes wandered from his wife to Zelda's drawing of herself and the mysterious boy. "It's just a feeling I had."

Din rolled her eyes. "A feeling!"

"You _know_ I'm considered a Sage amongst the Sheikah. I can't believe you doubt me now."

"That's just it, Daphnes. I'm _not _Sheikah."

Tetra began noisily slamming the bricks together. Voices were being raised and she didn't like it one bit. _BANG-BANG-BANG _went the bricks. _BANG-BANG-BANG. _She paused to give her arms a rest.

_BANG-BANG-BANG._

An exaggerated frown crumpled Tetra's soft features. She felt her mother stiffen beside her. She looked up, and felt scared when she saw the same fear reflected in her mother's face.

"What was that noise?" Din breathed. "Something's happening."

Other noises began to float into their little house from outside. Shouts. Cries.

Screams.

Tetra held out her arms. "Mama!"

Din scooped the little girl up into her embrace, then looked over at her husband. "Gerudo?"

Daphnes nodded. "They've found us. We thought we'd be safe here in the Badlands."

Tetra buried her head in her mother's chest. "Is it Armour Man, Mama?"

"Hush, darling," she replied softly. "There's no such thing."

Daphnes' eyes flashed. "Let her have hope. I'm not the only one who believes the Liberator is real."

Din's own gaze burned in response. "Not false hope. Not now. Not visions, or prophecies, or mythical heroes -"

A rock shattered the glass of the living room window. It bounced off the wooden table with a hollow thud. Tetra screamed. Din whirled away, sheltering her child as best as she could. Daphnes took a stumbling step backward.

The object began to hum. Then beep.

"That's not a rock..." he gasped. "Din! Duck!"

She did - and just at that moment the detonation device activated. There was no explosion. Just a soundless white flash, pure as milk and sharp as fresh snow. The wooden table was vaporised into ash. Burning debris sprayed them all.

Din hissed, her fingers clutching her daughter's hair tightly, then glanced up. A fire had started where the table had once stood. Flames had already begun to eat their way up both the curtains and the walls. She peered through the drifting smoke.

"Daphnes!" Her husband lay unconscious on the far side of the room. At the sound of her panicked voice, Tetra wriggled her head free from Din's grasp. "Hush, darling. Don't look."

But it was too late. Small she may be, but Tetra knew danger when she saw it. Especially when it was one of her parents facing it. She began to wail.

Din's eyes darted as she searched for a way through. Heat had begun to make the air shimmer.

What could only be described as a wall of fire divided the room in two. On one side, surrounded by three walls, was Din and her daughter. On the far side lay Daphnes and the room's only exit, which in turn led to the corridor to the front door.

Din's nose and throat burned and tears were streaming down her face. Her head spun. The smoke would get them before the fire did. She clutched Tetra close. Maybe she could just throw the child through the broken window...?

She snuffed the idea out instantly. Jagged planes of glass still remained attached to the wooden windowsill. Tetra could catch her arms or legs on there - or worse, her throat.

A thin film of sweat had sprung up on Din's copper skin. Her clothes clung to it. Despair yawned open in the pit of her heart, dark and deep. "Please..."

She jumped at the sound of an axe splintering wood. Another crack followed, then another. Something was crashing through the corridor beyond. Din blinked away gritty tears. A shadow fell across the open doorway to her living room. Din had to blink again. A figure stood there- a large figure, clad impossibly in mismatched metal. If someone had told her that the whole outfit was being held together with string, Din didn't think she'd be surprised. _That's_ how raggedy it looked.

"Armour Man!" squealed Tetra.

The newcomer stepped through the fire as though it was air. His metal plating, already charred black, glowed crimson whenever the flame touched it.

Din just stared in disbelieving shock. When he reached them, the steel-clad figure peered down through crudely punctured holes in a mask that was nothing more than a dented metal plate lined with rust-flecked rivets.

"Come on," he said, his voice gruff. "I'll get you out of here. Just stay behind me."

Tetra pointed. "Daddy!"

Armour Man glanced backward. "I'll get him. Follow me."

They did. Din hunched over her daughter, her head low, as she trailed after the hulking man. They stopped near the doorway just long enough for Armour Man to effortlessly scoop Daphnes up in his arms. The Sheikah sage hung there limply.

They made it to the passageway, but the fire had already beaten them to it. The door to the outside beckoned to them as flames flayed the paint off of the walls. A long, quiet hiss tapered off into a hollow snap. They looked up.

A wooden beam, engulfed in flame, snapped loose from the ceiling above and came swinging down in a fiery arc. Din jerked her head away, eyes squinted shut. It was only Tetra, then, that saw Armour Man harmlessly swat the beam away with his shoulder. He lunged forward and kicked at the door. It gave on the third try with a splintering crack, a ribbon of molten glowing sparks twirling away as it did so.

The cool night air greeted them as they finally stepped outside. That, and the sight of terrified Sheikah running this way and that as laughing Gerudo on horseback ran them down with dark-energy infused cudgels. The air rang with cries mixed with the wet snap of breaking bone.

The little family never directly encountered a Gerudo that night. Armour Man made sure of it, leading them down little-used trails and secret paths until they found a sanctuary where other survivors - barely a handful - had fled.

Four-year-old Tetra didn't realise any of that, of course. All that she knew was that this mysterious, mythical figure had saved her parents and her own little self. What she felt bubbling up in her heart that night was something that she'd cling to for the rest of her life.

It was gratitude. Pure, undiluted gratitude.

...

_I'm too damned old for this, snag?_

Captain Gortram stood at the mouth of the Tunnel of Justice armed with only a dull short-sword and a grimy, old-fashioned compass that rattled with every step he took. He was pretty sure it wasn't meant to do that.

His only companions were two winged pictocams that buzzed unceasingly far too close to his face. Growling only seemed to make them pester him some more. A red light atop each one blinked on and off, on and off, on and off, in a rhythmic pattern that the Goron captain was certain was designed to drive him quite mad. Gortram resisted the urge to swat both infernal machines away.

Helpfully, the tunnel was lined with lamps; _actual _lamps that burned fuel within oil-stained glass cylinders and drew the amorous attention of tiny, fluttering insects. Under the lamplight, the surrounding walls appeared to be translucent.

They _were _translucent, Gortram realised, as he could see the silhouettes of other people through the rocky surface. More of the studio crew, he guessed, come to keep tabs on him in the tunnels running parallel to his. No doubt someone somewhere was providing a spirited commentary on his actions, too.

_Wonder how that's working out for 'em. Can't be too exciting to have an old, slack-jawed Goron just wandering around aimlessly in, well, what exactly is this place...?_

Glancing around, he guessed that the tunnel was supposed to be some sort of reproduction of an ancient temple. There were strange markings etched into the roof, criss-crossed over with what seemed to be the huge bones of some impossibly sized animal. He let his mind chew over that, falling back on the stuff he used to pour over when learning about other cultures and whatnot.

_Okay, maybe it's not the temple itself. Maybe it's the approach to one. Filled with dangers and traps an' all that, so that when you make it through you could consider yourself worthy._

Gortram snorted at that. This led one of the pictocams to eye him with detached curiosity. It hovered in closer.

"Oh, go away," he snarled.

He gingerly took a step forward on the damp, hard and uneven ground. What else could he do? If he turned back, his fellow Gorons would probably cut him down on the spot. Brotherly love, already in short supply when he'd been young, now seemed to have vanished completely amongst his people. How low had the Gorons fallen?

All they answered to now were their sponsors. And for the makers of _Trial of the Century, _that meant that a key character - namely him in today's show - had to turn up on set or else heads would roll. Perhaps, literally. He had no choice to but to go on.

Besides, they'd made him sign a contract.

At least this way, he'd go down bravely. Maybe he'd inspire some young, impressionable soul watching, too. Inspire them to rethink their lives.

_Fat chance, you old slug. You'll be dead and forgotten within an hour._

One thing was certain, and that was the fact that this whole damn charade had to end pretty soon. It was a live show, after all. Whatever obstacles were to be found in the Tunnel of Justice would have to be short, sweet and definitively fatal.

His boots kicked against gnarled Deku sticks strewn randomly over the rocks. Deku sticks! The makers of this show were real sticklers for authenticity. The last time he'd seen a Deku stick was when he'd watched a historical pictovid years ago.

His ears pricked at the sound of dripping water, a metallic echo that sounded far too loud in the cavernous space. _Plink-plonk, plink-plonk, plink-plonk.. _There was another noise, too - regular and soft like the sound of breathing. If he could have pursed his lips any further he would have.

Gortram glanced down at his compass. It was meant to show him the way. At the moment the pointer indicated a path that lay straight ahead. Considering he had nowhere else to go _but _straight ahead, Gortram wondered what the blazes the point was.

_Adds to the drama, I suppose._

He threw the compass aside. One of the pictocams turned toward him. If an inanimate object could show disapproval, then this thing was doing it right now.

"Got a problem with that?" Gortram said, grinning. He'd take his victories whenever and wherever they came, no matter how small.

The Badlands had taught him many things, but the thing he'd really respected was something beyond his rational mind. See, he'd tried to save as many of the Sheikah as he could, mostly by being a guide and getting them to safety as quickly as possible. He hadn't always succeeded, of course. Failed more often than not. Seen many, many a man, woman, and child put brutally to the sword.

So whenever he felt the foreboding sense of approaching death, Gortram really took it seriously. He felt it back in the Badlands. He was feeling it right now.

He'd never engaged in combat back then - he wasn't a military man, after all - but he had helped in any way he could. Gortram had never quite understood why Princess Midna had forbade anyone from intervening in the Gerudo slaughter of the Sheikah. Back then he'd been certain she'd had her reasons. Back then, though, he'd still held a modicum of respect for her.

Regrets began to tug at him. He'd never found someone to settle down with, never had the chance to start a family. He'd been cursed with this damned desire to always set things right; it was almost a compulsion.

_I know. As soon as I'm outta this mess, I'll go book myself an appointment with a mind-doctor. Maybe Princess Midna could recommend me one._

The Goron captain smiled grimly at his own thoughts. He took another step. A whisper of air flew from above. Vertical steel bars fell, ploughing into the ground in front of him, barring his way. The dull, metallic thud echoed in the tunnel for a while afterward.

Gortram clung to his composure as he waited. The short sword felt heavy in his sweaty palm.

Metal groaned, a grinding of ancient unoiled gears, and two parallel panels slid aside on each wall. They revealed a pair of torches, one lit, sputtering in the cold air, the other dark and empty. Moss and lichen had taken up residence on both.

More gears clanked and whirred. Rockdust spattered down from above. Gortram looked up. The ceiling on his side of the steel bars was beginning to shake. He could guess what was coming. Chains rattled as the ceiling began to make a slow, slow descent.

_I get it. Escape or I get squashed flat. Do they let kids watch this show?_

Gortram narrowed his eyes. He looked from the bars to the unlit torch to the Deku sticks on the ground and over to the lit torch. He shook his head, then fixed one of the pictocams with a glare. "This is what you people find entertaining, aye?"

Leaning down, he scooped up a stick with his free hand. He set it against the lit torch. The end began to smoulder, then glow a molten orange before it caught with a quiet _whoomph. _He hurried over to the unlit torch and placed the burning brand against it. It caught instantly and, with a series of dull clanks, the steel bars began to rise, juddering slightly as they did so. The section of the ceiling clanked to a stop, hovered there on its chains for a moment, then began its sluggish ascent back to where it belonged.

_Now that wasn't so bad, was it? _

As if reading his thoughts, the ground began to tremble. Gortram looked up. Debris fell from above. Lamps flickered as they swung noisily on their hinges. Something was clearly approaching. Something from around a bend in the tunnel up ahead. He glanced around. The silhouettes behind the walls were clearly getting more agitated, their shadowy limbs gesturing in frantic animation.

The tremor hadn't abated - quite the opposite, in fact. Gortram was struggling to keep his balance. A deep rumble reverberated around the entire tunnel. Steam hissed through fissures in the patterned ceiling.

And then he saw it. An immense boulder, almost five times his size, trundled around the corner, clumps of mud and dirt flying from its cracked and pocked surface. It took a haphazard path, bouncing off one wall and the other. The ground shook harder as it approached.

"You are joking..." He glanced down at the weapon in his fist, then up to address one of the pictocams. "You gave me a _sword _for _this?"_

Gortram ran to the west wall. He didn't know _why_ he was running there, but he couldn't just stay standing there gawping right in the boulder's path, could he?

As he reached the wall, rusted metal spikes suddenly sprung from the surface, trembling as they halted just an inch from the Goron's face. Withered vines fell from the steel barbs.

Gortram's eyes widened. "You are _kidding _me."

Gortram stood his ground, arms trembling as he watched the enormous boulder approach. His eyes tracked its every movement, searching for any possible opening.

He found it. The boulder had to fit in the tunnel, after all. When it struck a wall, it left the smallest of gaps between its lowest curve and the ground.

_Small enough for a Goron to roll through?_

Gortram licked his lips as he watched. He tensed. The boulder hit the east wall; Gortram coiled his muscles, ready to pounce, but hesitated, and held himself back. His heart pounded. His ears roared with the sound of the approaching rock. He began swinging his arms, loosening his muscles as he did so.

_Closer. Closer..._

The boulder hit the west wall. _Now! Now! Now! _Gortram leapt, hit the ground hard, rolled into a ball, then sat up, blinking. Slowly he craned his neck around - just in time to see the boulder rolling harmlessly away behind him. Closing his eyes, Gortram let out a long, long breath.

_Ain't done that in a while. Turning into a ball, that is. Young Goron's game, that._

He stood, and then brushed himself down. Up ahead, the bend in the tunnel beckoned to him in dark invitation. Gortram shrugged, then began to walk. His skin was bruised and scrubbed raw in some places. Each step now sent a painful jolt through his aching body. Again, he heard the faint dripping of distant water. He'd kill for a drink of that now.

Gortram rounded the corner and stopped. Before him there stood a yawning chasm, so dark that it met his eyes as a black abyss. It went without saying that they'd killed all the lamps here.

_I guess there's that drama thing again. _

He peered into the gloom and nothing but darkness glared back. He wished he'd spent a little more time actually watching shows like this. Then, at least, he'd know what was coming.

A shiver ran down his spine. Instinctively, Gortram knew that this was where he would make his last stand. The thought brought Saria's image to his mind's eye. A murky sadness accompanied it.

"I'm sorry, sprog," he whispered. "Really I am. You deserved better than my lies."

Something moved in the darkness. Gortram felt his every muscle turn to lead. He dug his heels in.

A single light snapped into life. Its powerful beam revealed a huge scaly ball, not too dissimilar to the boulder he'd just fled from. What _did _differentiate it was the fact that it had just unfurled itself into a giant horned creature, its hide covered with raised spikes as it came to rest on four thick limbs. The tips of each spike glowed orange, emitting a tendril of smoke. The creature reared back on its hind legs and roared. Loose rocks tumbled from the ceiling in response.

Shock made an open-mouthed Gortram stagger backward. "A Dodongo? You people have a Dodongo?!"

The creature reared back again, screaming once more. A pair of spikes flew from its thick skin. Flames traced their speeding progress through the air.

Gortram yelled as he dodged the first projectile. The second sliced his shoulder, sizzling flesh.

"_Arrrgh!"_ The Goron threw himself up against one wall, his back pressed against the uneven, translucent surface. The Dodongo snorted, flickers of flame spiralling from its nostrils. It eyed the Goron with mild curiosity.

Terror overcame Gortram's mind. He stepped forward, drew back his sword arm, and threw. The stubby, useless weapon spun through the air, then bounced harmlessly against the Dodongo's scales with a faint _chink. _A low, ticking growl rumbled from the creature.

Somewhere from beyond the smoky transparent walls, Gortram thought he heard a faint ripple of laughter.

He took in a deep breath. A man always hoped that he could face his last moments in steely determination and unshakeable bravery. Well, at least, Gortram had. A long time back maybe. Now, though, he felt nothing but terror, a fear that turned his knees watery and collapsed his stomach into a dissolved heap. As the Dodongo made its slow approach, its scales clinking with every step, Gortram readied himself for the end.

_I was wrong. I did have a family. Aye, I did. Link. Navi. Saria. I'll miss you all. _

Rock splintered behind him. Gortram started, then cast a cautious glance over his shoulder. Cracks had suddenly appeared dead-centre in the wall behind him. They began to spread outward like a thin web, dust gouting through the gaps. The action made both Gortram and the Dodongo pause.

The wall erupted outward. Link, Tetra, Saria and the pirates tumbled through. Those that had weapons brought them to bear.

"Link?" Gortram gasped. "Lad, no. This isn't your fight."

"It is now," Link replied calmly.

"Maybe you're not aware," Tetra added. "But this is the grand finale of the show."

"Grand finale?"

"Yeah. They're not booked for an overrun. This is the bit where you're supposed to die."

Relief warred with fear deep within the Goron's heart. "So now we die together?"

"Nah," Tetra replied with a grin. She began tapping on keys set in a large tech bracelet around her wrist. "We're changing the script." A glowing triangular object rose into the air, hovering in front of the pirate woman's face. It cast her features in a silver hue. "Let's see what this sucker can really do." She winked at Gortram. "Triforce of Power, didn't you know?"

"Miss Tetra?" said Mako. "I'd recommend a hit on its tail."

"Gotcha."

The Dodongo roared. Tetra pressed the last few buttons. "Oh, _shush_, you."

A blast of pure white energy flew from the Triforce piece. It pierced the near-darkness and struck the Dodongo's tail.

The creature threw back its head and screamed, its tongue fluttering like a streamer in the wind. Silver energy washed over its entire body, tail to tip, engulfing it whole. It froze, its posture set as though in stone. The light faded from its eyes, the colour from its skin, until both were cast in a faint grey. Then, with a dying gurgle, it began to tumble to the ground.

Chaos erupted from within the passageway where Link and the pirates burst out from - cries and gasps of disbelief and anger. Not that the combined crews of the _Maximus _and the _Waking Wind_ cared one jot. They rushed instead to Captain Gortram, Link grasping him by the shoulder as Saria, eyes closed and grinning, hugged him around the waist.

_Beaten it, _Gortram thought, his stunned mind locked in a cocktail of utter disbelief and joy. He hugged Saria back, clutching her tightly. The two of them had a lot to discuss, he knew, but just right then none of it really mattered. _We did it. I'm alive._

The Dodongo was still making its ponderous descent to the rocky ground. As it did so, one of its limbs made one last convulsion. Perhaps it was a dying reflex. Perhaps it was the creature's last act before it died. Whatever the case, one last spike flew silently from the immense beast's corpse. It sped straight for Captain Gortram.

No one saw it coming.

No one except Tetra.

"No!" she cried. She threw herself against the Goron, shoving both him and Saria out of the way. Tetra wasn't so lucky. The spike tore through her shoulder, dragged her through the air dangling like a child's doll, then pinned her squarely against the wall.

The pirate crew yelled in unison: "MISS TETRA!"

It was Link who reached her first, gravel flying from his boots as he slid into a crouch beside her. "Captain Tetra. Captain Tetra!" His trembling fingers scrabbled about his belt. "Where's my med-kit? _Where is it?_"

The pirate woman coughed. "Ak-ak-ak-"

Link looked up into her face. "Don't try to speak. I'll help you. Just -"

Tetra's eyes focussed. Her hand snapped up to clutch his. Link felt something hard and triangular be pushed into his palm.

"So," she rasped as her hand fell limply away. "Do you trust me now?"

Link blinked slowly. "Always, old friend."

Her eyes fluttered as they met his. "Friend?"

"Sshh," he said, voice soft as the others crowded around them. "Hold on, Captain. Just hold on."

The crossbow bolt burned past Link's ear and cracked straight into Tetra's throat. Her body convulsed violently one last time. Her final breath escaped hissed from her lips. Saria screamed. Link stumbled back in shock. The pirates were struck by stunned disbelief; Gonzo and Senza had their heads gripped in their hands as they backpedalled. Tetra's corpse jolted once, twice, thrice - three more bolts had struck home.

Link spun around. "What? Who?"

"_Me."_

An intricate pattern of glowing indigo energy stood out in sharp relief to the darkness. Ganondorf Dragmire stepped out of the shadows, a huge cannon humming with dark energy strapped to his arm. Crossbow wings trailing faint smoke sat atop it.

Link slowly rose, his molten fury rising, his eyes fixed on the Gerudo. The man was tall, _very_ tall. And despite the Darkhide armour protecting him, it was quite clear that Dragmire possessed a raw, natural power all of his own.

"_Do I have your attention now?"_

Link drew his sword and pushed away doubt's whispered breath. He'd been waiting for this. He could _do_ this. He began to walk.

For Tetra. For _Zelda._

Ganondorf massaged his gloved fingers, then cracked his knuckles. The sound rang out like a crossbow shot in the now eerily silent chamber. Some of the Gorons had decided to peer in through the opening in the wall. Their slack faces betrayed their incomprehension at what was unfolding before them.

Link began to pick up speed, his crackling sword slowly spinning in his hand, chopping air. He could hear the others shouting at him, their voices sharp and urgent, but his mind blocked out their words. Ganondorf lowered his head and grinned.

"_Ya!_" Link leapt, swinging his sword around up and over his head to –

Dragmire caught him easily by the throat. "_Ha_!"

He let the straining Hylian dangle there in mid-air until Link's face began to turn purple. Micro-gears and intricate servos whirred and clicked deep within the Darkhide armour. Then, with one last smirk, Ganondorf smashed Link into the hard floor. Link rolled away, his nose a bloody mess. Dazed, he rose shakily to his feet. A scarlet-stained tooth fell from his lips.

Ganondorf drew in his arm, eyes glittering with amused menace, then caught Link with a stinging backhand. Link flew back across the room, limbs flapping wildly, and slammed into the wall with a crack. He slid to the ground, his body limp, just a few paces away from his shocked friends. His sword clattered against the rocks.

"_Observe."_ Dragmire pointed his arm cannon straight up. An air-shredding _boom _echoed through the entire chamber as a blast of energy shot skyward. The roof of the cavern exploded, exposing them to the night sky beyond. A hailstorm of fiery rocks and hot ash rained down a moment later. Dragmire stood eerily still as everyone else dived and ducked for cover.

It was Saria, coughing and spluttering, who was the first to peer up through the now-diminishing smoke. Her bloodshot eyes widened. "_The Righteous Maximus!"_

_"Indeed," _said Dragmire, glancing up. The ship was making a slow descent. _"Had it not been for the Goron's accursed shielding tech, I would have stayed here and finished you all. Thank you for broadcasting your position all over the pictovid network, by the way." _Blue sparks began to flicker into life all around him. "_But, alas, as you can see, my warp gate is quite temporary, and my time here short. So. Let me not waste words: I have something you want._"

He pressed some buttons on his arm cannon. Two blurred images flew out from the barrel. Two figures, their faces writhing in pain.

Link, groggy, still had enough presence of mind to recognise both. "Navi..." he gasped, wiping away the grime from his face. "Zelda!"

"_And you have something I want. Namely, the Triforce pieces - I see you have two now. Excellent. I won't ask how. It just makes it all the easier for me. I've left a map in your ship. Come find me. I do hope you know how to pilot it without a fairy._

_"Oh, and I hope you'll forgive me but I did myself the favour of conducting a minor search of your quaint little vessel. It's interesting what junk one finds when one is doing the cleaning, is it not? My thanks for procuring the Master Sword. I'll be keeping that, too. You've all been so very helpful with **everything, **I must say."_

His laugh was both cold and deep.A spiral of blue energy now enveloped him. Dragmire's voice began to grow distant. "_Don't keep me waiting too long now. Let's finish this, shall we? Let's finish this once and for all."_


	17. Interlude

**01000011 01101000 01100001 01110000 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 00110001 00110111**

###

_Recording..._

Day four-hundred and forty-three of captivity.

Well, that's what it feels like anyway. I_'_ve never been this far long away from the _Maximus. _There's an emptiness within me, a gaping void that only the shape of a Cloud Clipper Mark One mining vessel and a plate of warm caramel cookies can fill. We were made for one another. [That's the _Maximus _and me, not the cookies]. In her case, made quite literally. The _Maximus _was built by the Gorons to specifically meet my - quite unique, I hasten to add - specifications. I was there with her when she first launched. I never thought I'd ever be apart from her. Especially not this long.

It feels like an eternity.

Haven't been separated from the crew this long, either. I wonder what's happening with them...?

I can't access the DataNet. That's courtesy of this dingy little fairy cage they've chucked me into. Even when I'm not housed there, they've got fairy-blocking tech all over the place here in Ganondorf Dragmire's temporary - and quite hidden - palace. The only thing I know is that it's somewhere in Hyrule.

The cage itself though is on a table in a locked room. Being imprisoned twice over doesn't bother me that much, though. It's the tech blocking that gets me. Cut off from the deep rivers of information that I'm used to, pulled away from the bottomless eddies of data that I loved to submerge myself in, I now just feel blind and deaf.

And quite useless.

So, this fairy cage, yeah? Well, that's where I'm speaking to you from right now. Three walls of metallic grey hemmed in by a series of energised steel bars. You can smell the ozone if you get too close. Get even closer and you won't be smelling a thing. There's a lot of juice in those steel bars, enough to fry a fairy's hide, that's for sure.

I don't actually spend a lot of time here in the cage, truth be told. I get happy time. Lucky me, huh? Well, not until you find out exactly what it is...

'Happy time' involves a Moblin reaching into the cage, grabbing me with its horrible warty hands, stuffing me in a plexiglass container, then wheeling me down on a squeaking trolley down with an obviously rickety wheel to the Dreaded Torture Chambers of Certain Doom ™.

Once I'm there, I get more Moblins pawing at me - ew and ugh, is all I can say to that - as they hook me up via coils and coils of long, badly frayed wires to a wonderful contraption the Gerudo dub as the High Voltage Compliance Guaranteed Super Harness.

Or, as the chief Moblin torturer calls it, the HVCGSH.

He sounds like he's choking when he says it short like that.

Then they throw the switch. The lights flicker in the room, the machine shakes, and I'm zapped with a continuous stream of dark energy.

"URRRGH," I cry whenever I'm strapped in, then, "NNNYYYYAAAARGH!" and "HNNNNH!"

Sounds bad, right? Well, don't you worry your pretty little heads, folks. I've cunningly managed to combine some techy-wizardness along with a bit of jiggery-pokery [these are technical terms that require years - nay, decades - to master, so you can stop sniggering at the back there] and have bypassed and reconfigured their diabolical device in order lower the voltage.

Sweet.

So, yeah, I'm getting that dose of energy alright, but it's cranked down so low that I have to stop myself from giggling because it tickles so. I do get a good massage out it, I must say.

But while I'm hooked in there, I have to, for hours on end, sing a ditty that goes a little something like this: "AAARGH!" and "UNNNNNNNGH!" and, for good measure, yet another "URRRGH!"

I can't _believe_ Ganondorf fell for that stuff.

The Moblins are none the wiser, either. [Yeah, like they ever have a clue anyway].

I have to say, though, that I am tempted, on occasion when I'm _really_ bored, to just grin and cry out '_Sweeeeeet_' all the way through the process. I doubt they'd appreciate it, though.

I'd be modest about this achievement of mine - rewiring the torture device, that is - but, hey, what would be the point? Modesty and Navi the fairy? I _know_, right?

The thing is, I only managed to hack the HVCGSH [bless you] after my third time being strapped in, so it was a little more complex to what I'm used to. Before that I felt it all. Every, excruciating second. But every scream has a silver lining and all that, you know. The blast of energy frazzled my head - and dislodged something dormant there, something deep inside. Something I hadn't even known was there.

It's a thingamajig. Or a doodah. Can't quite remember the exact technical term.

I don't know where it came from or when exactly it got in there. I can't even get to grips with exactly what it is. I just don't get the time. I'm either strapped into the HVCGSH [sounds nasty; you should get that seen to] or I have a date with the lady formerly known as the Aveil.

She's maskless now, so I guess Ganondorf's eased up on her on that. Or I short-circuited that thing so good that he couldn't get his best people to fix it. Yeah, I'll go with that one. Makes more sense, no? He's also given her a gift - her very own personal torture chamber. With ribbons.

Generous to a fault, that guy.

It's to this personal chamber that Zelda has me taken every so often. I'd call it a room, but that'd be an insult to rooms. Broom cupboard, maybe. Or wardrobe? It's a small, squat bare space, furnished with a chair, a metal table, some chains for my benefit and a single lamp that's meant to be shone straight into my admittedly pretty eyes.

And some ribbons.

No windows. There's a big switch on the table, too [helpfully marked DANGER: BIG SWITCH] which Zelda has to pull in order to administer the punishment.

She's meant to be dishing out the pain so that she can prove herself worthy to Ganondorf.

Except she doesn't.

"Be telling me again," she said on my last visit, leaning back in her chair. I remember her tapping her fingers on the metal table. I hadn't recorded the whole thing in real time when it was happening, but I can easily remember every detail and fill you all in. "Be telling me more about Link."

"Well," said I. "There was this one time when Captain Gortram had injured himself during a particularly taxing excavation, yeah? He had to be confined to quarters for forty-eight hours to recover. Link injected him with all the requisite medication, then didn't leave his side. Not for one minute. He had to make sure, he said, that Gortram was both getting his rest and was being otherwise undisturbed.

"Nature would call and Link wouldn't even flinch. I shudder to think how he dealt with that. Actually, I think I did contemplate it for 0.2 nanoseconds, then deleted my findings from my memory as it was just too shocking. Even for little old me."

Zelda listened intently and was about to speak when she jumped. It was a knock on the door. Her eyes grew wide when Ganondorf stepped in. Zelda quickly threw the big switch.

"YEURGH!" I said with a well-practised grimace. "NNNNNNNNN!" followed, and then, "YADAHO!"

The big cheese nodded in approval. "_Excellent," _he said. "_I just came to inform you that I shall be away for a little while." _He had a ginormous cannon thingy strapped around his arm. I'm guessing he has issues._ "The Goron capital is my destination. Keep up the good work, dear. This all pleases me greatly."_

After he left, Zelda turned and favoured me with a funny look. "Yadaho...?"

"Hey," I countered, "you have to get creative in my position. Limited vocabulary palette to choose from, you know?"

She didn't look too convinced, so I added, "I'd like to see _you _do any better."

Actually, we both had experience. Ganondorf [Is it G-Dorf to his pals, you think? Or the Dragster?] had the two of us take individual pictographs in various stages of distress. He's going to use them, you see, to entice Link and friends to make a beeline straight for here.

Gosh, I hope they're all okay.

So, yeah, where was I? Zelda, right? After she blanked my really quite reasonable explanations she said, "Be showing me some pictographs. Of Link." She paused, then added. "Please."

Since she asked so nicely, I duly obliged. I trawled through my memory banks to find any images that would cast old Link in a more dashing light than a failed soldier moonlighting as a medic on a tiny mining ship. Might help with Zelda's condition, right?

"So, here he is frowning a bit." I flashed the pic in mid-air. Then the second. "He's also got a bit of a frown in this one." I shrugged. "It happens." Another image duly shown. "And a frown in this one." I licked my lips. The third picture burned the air with its spectral glow, reflecting in both of Zelda's eyes. A final image followed. "_Annnd _in this one."

I looked all sheepish. "Trust me, he does smile. Barrel of laughs when you get to know him."

Zelda sighed, her face glum. "I wish I _was_ knowing him. Or that I could be remembering."

I didn't know at the time what to say to that. I'm not having much luck in jogging her memory, as you can probably tell.

For some reason that makes me feel sad.

Her not having the Aveil mask anymore is a bonus; it stops the whole memory damping process. But trying to find those selfsame memories has been quite the task.

That was then, and this is now. Like I said, they've put me in a fairy-cage. This is the place I spend the _least _time in. Hard to believe, no? It's insulated from all my tech, so there's no way of me hacking their systems from here.

Wait. I think I mentioned all that that already, right? Silly me. Nice of them to be so thorough, though. It's not that bad of a pad to just hang out in, either. Aside from the dubious looking fairy-sized deep-scarlet stain on one wall, everything else about it is _juuuuust _fine.

They've even got little old me an-honest-to-gosh guard. Good thing Ganondorf wasn't personally in charge of my incarceration or else I'd have been in real trouble. The Moblins, on the other hand, had gotten themselves that rarest of beings to place in charge over me: a mint-in-pressed-shirt, hated-enemy-of-all-things-fairy, real- life actual _pixie_.

With a stupid gnome hat on.

Here he comes now, grinning like an idiot.

"There's hay for you," he says, as though doing me a favour. He runs his baton along the steel bars. Energy spits and crackles at the touch. "On the floor. Hay."

"Thanks," I say.

What am I supposed to do with hay? Graze? What am I, a cow?

The thing you have to know about pixies - who are, in general, mostly male - is that they're a techno-organism that specialises in the utter ravishing of fairy kind. I could see that sick light of lust in this guy's eyes right now. I'd been noticing it for a while, too. The way his gaze swallowed in my every detail. The lascivious manner in which licked his lips. The way his tongue hung out stupidly from his half-open mouth.

And it's not just me he's directing his interest in, either. There's another fairy in here. One I've only just noticed, too. That's how frazzled I am by being in this place.

I turn to her. "Hey," I say, trying to strike up conversation. "I'm Navi. Nice to meet you, sister."

She's slapping her palm against the floor, snapping some of the hay as she does so. I really hope I'm not meant to be eating that later, because she's ruining my supper if I am.

"Gak! Gak! Gak!" she says.

I guess she's taking all this well, then.

I have to ask, though. "Gak?"

She looks up at me, noticing me for the first time. "Oh, _gak_."

"What?"

"Sorry," she replies. "I'll explain."

"You do that."

"I was the fairy for a haulage crew. Exotic cargo was our deal."

"Uh huh."

"Yeah, well, it was animals that we mostly delivered. Keese, in particular. I have no idea why. Somewhere in Hyrule they were going gak-crazy for Keese."

"That sounds bad," I say. "How'd that work out for you?"

"It was like gak on a gak sandwich."

"I'm still not getting this gak thing, hun."

"Oh, sorry," says she. "Keese droppings. Keese droppings are called _gak_, you see."

"I didn't know that."

"Not many people do. Not even us fairies."

"So you can't find _everything _on the DataNet, after all."

The other fairy nods. "So, yeah, on my ship, the crew were all, 'Gak this and gak that,' Turned the air blue."

"It's blue, is it?"

She blinks, baffled. "What?"

"Gak. It's blue." I'm confusing myself now. "I mean, is it? Is it blue?"

"No." She's frowning and looking at me like I was a giant pile of gak right then. Perhaps a blue pile. "Why in the world would it be blue, huh? Have you never seen -"

"Hoy hoy, what are you two blabbering about?" It's fairy-fetish boy, butting in. "Care to share?"

I favour him with a sour look. "Not particularly, no."

"Oh, don't be like that," says he. "I'm great with fairies."

I bet you are.

"I even have a little, ah, agency back home. A little business on the side, if you will." He licks his lips. "You see, it's like this, darlin. I get all the comeliest looking wenches from your lot, get their pictographs done, and sell them on for moolah. Good moolah. It's a tidy little income in the pixie world, let me tell you." He's looking at the both us with his weasely eyes, stroking his beard wistfully. "You two bints should try it. If you ever get out of here, that is. There's so much I could do with the two of you."

I'm sure you could, honey.

The slimy toad [apologies to all toads listening to this recording] seems to get that I'm blanking him and stalks off, wearing an aura of hurt pride.

Diddums.

I turn back to my fellow prisoner. "I'm Navi."

"Yeah. You said."

Ooh. Testy.

"What's your name, then?"

"Honeysuckle Bluebell Meadowbank."

"Okay," I reply. "That's...nice. Different."

She narrows her eyes. "You don't like my name."

"No, no, I do. I love it. Really."

On a scale of 1-10 on the sweet-o-meter where a one is a blue pile of steaming gak and a ten is, well, me basically, 'Honeysuckle Bluebell Meadowbank' as a name ranks about a two.

I'm sure she has a lovely personality, though.

Honeysuckle makes a sour face. "Well," she says. "Honeysuckle Bluebell Meadowbank the Third to be exact."

"Family thing, is it?"

If it is, I bet they were all closet botanists.

"No." Her face turns sad. "I had to be rebooted three times."

Ouch.

Fairies, like pixies, are techno-organisms, you see. I mean, we're born, eat, breathe like everyone else. But there's a part of us that's in tune with the tech of Hyrule, namely the DataNet and all the pretty little ships in the sky. For a normal fairy child, the techno part kicks in when they're about three. That's when we get our official names. If it doesn't, then emergency protocols are engaged in order to boot up the relevant dormant tech - hence the term 'rebooting.' Honeysuckle had to go through it three times.

Poor mite.

"Must've hurt," I say.

"The first time wasn't too bad," she says, perking up somewhat. "The second time was the total gaks, I can tell you. The third, though...well, see my nails?"

She holds up her fingers. I peer in. "You don't have any."

"Yeah."

"How'd that happen?"

"I tried to claw out the eyes of the fairy overseeing the reboot. I think he still has my fingernails embedded in his head part-way between his eye and his brain."

Okay. Fair enough.

She's pensive as she runs the memory back, no doubt in crystal clarity. "My nails never did grow back."

Girl has priorities, I see.

"How'd you end up here?" I ask.

Now there's a sudden rush of anger twisting her little face. "It was the Aveil. She kidnapped me. I'm good at breaking encryptions, you see. She found out and stuffed me in a bottle. In a bottle! She's bat-gak insane."

I'm frowning here. "You've got quite the potty mouth, you know. And gak is a stupid word. Stop saying it. Really. Stop it."

I don't know why, but I'm feeling all defensive toward Zelda all of a sudden. I blame Link.

What?

Hey, listen, you all have to admit that this whole crazy situation that I'm stuck in now _is _all his entire fault, right? No lie!

Honeysuckle seems to have caught the drift on the Zelda thing, though, because she's quick to add, "Well, anyway. The Aveil actually did promise to let me go. After I'd dug up some data for her. It was Ganondorf that overruled her and had me thrown in here."

There's a dull snap of a metal bar being shunted aside, bringing our conversation to an end. The door to the room swings open and a snuffling Moblin shambles in, squeaky trolley in tow.

Honeysuckle gasps. "Oh _gak._"

I roll my eyes. I was looking forward to a bit of me-time, you know. Hoping to get to the bottom of this _thing _in my head.

The Moblin stops short in front of our cage and slobbers over his own chin.

If you think that's bad you should see Saria eat.

"You," the Moblin snorts, pointing at yours truly. "Aveil wants you."

"Moi?" I give a mocking bow. The Moblin creaks opens the cage and is about to reach in when I hastily hold up a hand. "I'll make my own way out. Thanks, buddy."

The pixie winks salaciously as I pass him by. I resist the urge to knock the stupid little gnome hat off of his stupid little pixie head.

He actually has the utter gall to reach out a hand toward me.

"_What_ are you _doing_?"

"Just enjoyin' the view, darlin'."

"Go enjoy it from over there, buddy."

As I enter the plexiglass container I wave at Honeysuckle Bluebell Meadowbank the Third. She just stares at me mournfully.

Gosh, it's like a funeral in here.

As the trolley makes its trundling way to the Aveil's torture chamber, I rack my memory banks and triple scan my software in order to find something for Zelda to use. I _really _want it to work out for her. I'm still at it when I arrive and the Moblin claps me in chains. Zelda's there, too. She waits for the guard to leave and the door to snap shut behind her.

"Please," she says, her voice close to breaking. "I cannot be abiding this anymore. You _must _be having a clue. Something new."

"I'm looking," I say in all honesty.

There's that _thing _in my mind again, begging for my attention. It's with a tug of regret that I have to force myself to ignore it. Tear myself away, in fact. You just stay nestled snug in my mind, sweet-pea, I'll get to you soon, I promise.

I bring Link's files up, sort them into chronological order, and start at the very beginning. And then I see it. Blinking like a light.

"Hey," I say uncertainly. "Hey, listen. I think I've got it."

She perks up at this. "Yes?"

"I don't know if I should, to be honest. It's a private file. One of Link's. One he had logged onto my databanks when he first joined the crew. It's encrypted, but I can easily crack it."

"Be doing it."

"You sure? It is meant to be private, you know. Private. Did I say it was private? It is. Private, that is."

"I am _needing _this. Please."

I sigh. "O-_kay_."

"I am being dropping your tech dampeners," she says, voice echoing against the metal walls. Her fingers dance on a keypad set into the metal table. "Just only for this room, though."

"Gee, thanks." I get to work. "_Accessing."_

An image of Link spills out of my glowing eyes and fills the air. In it, he runs a hand through his blond hair. He tends to do that a lot, I've noticed. Link sighs. He tends to do _that_ a lot, too.

"_So, Zel," _he began, the recording of his voice scratchy and occasionally prone to reverb. "_Here I am. Didn't work out in the army. Won't get to save loads of people as a medic, either. At least not here on this mining ship, anyway. They do seem a friendly bunch, though. You'd have liked 'em. Fairy's a bit weird, but beggars can't be choosers, hey?"_

I blink. "What?

Zelda waves my interruption away. "Sshh."

Link's throat bobs as he swallows. "_So. Nothing 'beautiful' for me to do, like you always wanted. Instead I've failed." _A shadow falls across his blurred visage. His voice starts to break. "_I remember it every night, Zelda. The image is always there in my head. Like it's been burned in. I remember seeing the Aveil carry you off. Remember hearing your screams, your sobs. Remember Ganondorf and Princess Midna. And I just stood there. I stood there and let it happen. I -"_

The recording cuts off. I'm watching Zelda as she sits there, ashen-faced, her eyes glistening.

I make sure my voice is soft. "There's some more," I say. "Recorded a bit later."

Her voice is hoarse and equally quiet. "Be playing it."

"_Accessing._"

We see Link again. He's got a bit of his old composure back now. _"So, yeah," _he says. "_I'm starting a new life now. But that doesn't mean I've forgotten. Doesn't mean I'll __**ever **__forget. I...I never got to tell you how much you meant to me. I never knew what to say, really. Well...you were special to me. I guess that's what I want to say. You __**are**__ special to me, I mean._

_"And me? Well, I let you down. I let them take you away. I tried to find you but it was hopeless. Ganondorf's got you. I just pray he's not hurt you in any way at all."_ There's a bitterness tarring his voice that even _I _am finding uncomfortable. Zelda, though, seems transfixed.

_"I don't know what I'd say to you if I ever saw you again. But I know what you'd say to me. Yeah, I do." _He gives a firm nod to emphasise his iron conviction. His stricken gaze burns into the pictocam. "_You'd say that I deserve nothing but your hatred." _The muscles in his neck clench and whatever words he was going to say next die croaking in throat. It's a while before he speaks again. "_And you what? You'd be absolutely right."_

The image goes black. I don't know what to say to Zelda. She, in turn, doesn't say a word to me. Her face is blank, her eyes dim. She stands, walks to the door, and taps the keypad. The tiny beeps ring out in the darkness. The door opens, and she's gone.

I press my lips into a thin line. "I'll just hang here, then. No worries."

She's back a moment later. Her large, blue eyes burn into my face. "I am remembering now," she says softly. "Not everything. But enough, for sure. A fool, I've been. Used by this Dragmire monster. I would be helping you escape now, but it might not be good for you. Not yet. Wait. I am knowing now who I am and what I have to do."

And then she's gone again, slipping into the shadows beyond. I manage to catch her fast-fading voice as she says, "Take her back. I am being done with her for the day."

Darkness swirls around me. My chains tinkle. I can hear one of the Moblins shuffling outside, ready to come in and take me back to my oh-so-luxurious cage. I think back over Zelda's words.

A wide grin slowly spreads over my lips.

"Gak just got real."

_Recording ends._

###


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Lying flat on his back on the prickly grass, his arms behind his head, a seventeen-year-old Link gazed up at the vast expanse of stars. It was nice up here, perched on top of this hill. Serene, even. Link chewed at a long, dry blade of grass that stuck out from the bottom corner of his mouth. Sounds drifted up from below: the crackle of a large fire - he could see its molten glow smeared just at the edge of his line of sight - and laughter and music floating in the air.

Party time once again in the Kokiri Settlement. The occasion? Why, it was yet _another _Kokiri festival, yet another excuse for some merrymaking. It was a wonder the town ever got any work done. Link watched the stars gleaming above, watched too the nightly shipping traffic, from here just twinkling navigation lights weaving in, out and around clouds tinted a ghostly silver from the moon.

There were lights up here on the hill, too, energy-driven lamps that glowed so brightly that you didn't dare look at them too long or else would have a permanent mark burned onto your retina. He was certain the lights were there so that their respective mothers - who would cast a watchful glance up here every so often - could keep an eye on them. After all, he wasn't alone up here.

Zelda sat beside him, hugging her knees as she pulled petals off a little yellow flower. "And then she was telling me she was going to be coming back for me but she never did come back and I was waiting there all that time in the store and I was feeling _so_ angry at her and when I was seeing her again she was not even apologising and -"

Link listened in dutifully stoic silence, but deep inside he couldn't help but smile. Despite all her talk about beauty and whatnot, Zelda was just as human as everyone else - here she was getting frustrated with one of her small circle of friends who had abandoned her on a recent shopping trip.

"Really, why do you care?" Link said, butting in. "I thought it didn't matter to you what people thought."

"But it is being the principle of it!" she countered. "Of making a promise. Of not leaving someone in the lurch."

"Maybe," Link said, a sly undercurrent to his voice. "_Maybe _you're just happy you've actually found some new friends. And _maybe _you just don't want to lose them."

"Hmph," she replied, looking away. Her round blue eyes glittered. "Are you saying that I am being afraid?"

"Never even implied it."

"Good. Because I am not. Being afraid, that is."

Link smiled. He snuck a glance at her from the corner of his eye. Her face caught both the lamp and moonlight at just the right moment as he did so - and Link felt a flutter in his heart, a flutter of emotions both unfamiliar and warm.

He didn't even have the time to think over his reaction. Zelda suddenly reached over and snatched the dry blade of grass from his lips.

"Be getting that thing out of your mouth."

"Hey!"

"No 'hey'. It is being gross."

"Gross? Don't you mean Groose?"

"What?"

"Groose. He always has one hanging from his mouth."

"He has a hay stick. You are being having a dirty blade of grass."

"Like that makes a difference. It gets him the girls either way."

Zelda snorted and rolled her eyes. A cheer erupted from down below, cutting off their conversation. It was followed by a _swoosh. _Fireworks launched on the back of bright rockets whistled into the air in a zig-zagging trail of purple smoke, then burst into a crackling mass of glittering colour. The Kokiri crowd at the hill's base _oooooh-_ed in appreciation. Zelda, though, seemed distracted, muttering under her breath. "Leaving me behind like that..."

She suddenly rolled over on to her front, perched her chin atop her upturned hands, then gazed down at Link. Her long hair cascaded down and tickled his face. Link, caught utterly by surprise, felt his breath vanish.

"You wouldn't be doing that, would you, Link?" she asked in all earnestness. "You would be coming back for me, right?"

Lost in the sea of her wide sapphire eyes, Link's whispered reply came from deep inside. "Always."

They were _really _close now. _Uncomfortably_ close. Zelda suddenly seemed to realise. She blinked rapidly, then swept back into a seated position. Link sat bolt upright, too.

"Uh..." she said, her cheeks tinted with a flush of pale rose.

Link noisily cleared his throat. "Soooo..."

They were pointedly avoiding each other's eyes.

"Yes! So. Um." She twiddled her thumbs. Link had never seen anyone do _that_ outside of a story. "Er..."

They lapsed into silence. Voices and the crackle of fire from below mixed with the faint drone of engines from above, their only companions in the newfound quiet. Zelda twirled a lock of her hair around her finger.

"Really?" she said at last.

Link blinked in surprise. "What?"

She tucked the lock of hair behind one ear. "You would come back for me?"

"What, when you go shoppin-"

She reached over and rapped him lightly on the forehead. "_No_, silly. For...I don't know...for for anything?" She winced. "I am not making much sense."

Link opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by another barrage of fireworks popping into the air. A spray of spinning multi-coloured sparks blossomed outward in all directions, brilliant in their brightness against the backdrop of the night sky.

"You _are_ making sense," Link said after a lull in the celebrations. "Yeah. _Yeah. _I would. I would come back for you."

Zelda didn't say anything after that. She just looked to the star-sprinkled sky as more rockets flew toward the heavens. She smiled.

The rockets exploded, piercing through the very fabric of reality itself. Time froze. The image of Zelda's smiling face hung there in his mind's eye before the dream-world tore itself apart. Link awoke, blinking, finding himself back in his familiar cabin aboard _The Righteous Maximus, _blankets knotted around his limbs.

His heart still bubbled with a trace of that unfamiliar yet warm feeling he'd had all those years ago. Link let his head sink into the pillow.

...

Captain Gortram stood outside the door of his ready-room. Autopilot engaged, the _Maximus _swayed gently under his feet. It didn't help the queasiness he felt inside. Even the hum of the engines didn't soothe him like they usually did. His mouth was dry and his stomach bubbled sourly. He'd been putting this off for a long while.

Saria sat inside, waiting. Gortram still wasn't sure what he was going to say to her. He'd had a lot of time to think - piloting the _Maximus _manually had given him that, and had also doubled as an excuse to delay this meeting. He could ask Link - the lad had already had the 'chat' with Saria - but he hadn't wanted to pry. Gortram knew more than anyone how personal this was.

The android body he'd placed Saria's memories in had been pre-programmed to delete from its memory any revelation that would threaten to reveal the truth. It was self-preservation. After all, if the droids were to be used on the battlefield as intended it would do no good for them to suddenly have a crisis of identity in the middle of a skirmish.

Hadn't worked in this case, though. It seemed that Saria had broken through the programming.

_Must've been the shock of it all. Coupled with the fact that she's just a wilful little sprog in the first place. _

She hadn't actually been cold around him, though. Just wary. That did kinda hurt, Gortram had to admit. They'd had a warm friendship up to this point. He wasn't looking forward to the prospect that it had all now - on her part at least - completely curdled.

_Aye, but better get it over and done with now. Depressing enough already on deck._

Captain Tetra's death hung over the ship like a dark cloud that no-one wanted to acknowledge. Link had gone all introverted as usual and the tech pirates, surly as ever, wouldn't even speak about what had happened. Gortram wasn't even sure why they were still sticking around.

_Maybe they think I could've saved her? Maybe they think I still have a memory transfer device and a spare android hanging around?_

He didn't have either, of course. Gortram wasn't quite sure what to make of Tetra's sacrifice. He was grateful, naturally. Too old to feel guilty, though. And too thick-skinned to be bothered by the prospect that the tech pirates resented him for what had happened.

Gortram shook his head. _If the lads aren't willing to talk to me about it, then there's nothing for me to dwell on._

Not about Tetra, at least. He gazed at the door, his eyes tracing ever energy-filled crack and line. Captain Gortram let out a breath. Thick-skinned he may be, but the idea that Saria of all people would hate him for how he'd lied and led her on somehow turned his joints to cold, icy water.

He clutched the doorknob. _Time to face the music, old man._

Gortram entered to find Saria sitting at his table as she idly twirled a fork through her fingers. She jumped at his approach, startled, then quickly composed herself with a smile.

"Hey," she said, voice soft.

Gortram swallowed. What kind of smile was that? What could he read from it?

He had to mentally shake his head again. Too much thinking.

"Hey, sprog."

He sat himself down on a chair on the opposite side of the table. Saria watched him all the while, her expression neutral. A clock ticked in the background, a souvenir he'd picked up long ago. It was one of those old-fashioned ones, too. You had to wind it up by hand.

Captain Gortram laid his palms flat on the table, then let out a long, low breath. Amazing how your mind could wander when you were nervous. "So."

The corners of Saria's mouth twitched. "_So._"

Gortram sighed again. "Yeah."

An odd look crossed Saria's face. "Sounds heavy. Got a lot to get off your chest, yeah?"

"_Yeah_."

His eyes felt hot as he watched her. Were those tears he felt? Hadn't had _those _in a long time. He kept his gaze on Saria's face and was surprised to feel a surge of love suddenly thrum deep in his heart. He'd saved her. Brought her up. Yeah, sure, he'd never had the heart to tell her the truth, but he knew now that he didn't want to lose her.

And now it was all going to collapse in his face like ash.

"I really need a drink," he said suddenly. He began glancing around. "Do you need a drink? I'm sure I have some stashed here somewhere."

Saria looked hopeful. "Koola...?"

"Not...quite, no." His eyes didn't find anything. He gave up. "Never mind."

"Okay."

"Uh," he said, trying to force some moisture back into his mouth. Glancing at her again, he noticed that her eyes were rimmed red.

_Over Tetra? Or herself?_

Gortram ploughed on. "I guess you want to hear the truth, aye?"

Saria's reply was firm, though quiet. "I think I already have."

"Right. Right." He shook his head. "So. You're wonderin' why I never told you, eh?"

Saria blinked slowly before she responded. "Not really."

Gortram blinked, too; in surprise for him. "No?"

"Let me get this straight, yeah?" Saria said, licking her lips. "I'm an android."

Gortram braced himself. Here it was. Laid out raw. "Aye."

"Except I look like...a person."

"Aye."

"With implanted memories."

Tension tightened Gortram's chest. "Yes."

The silence stretched between them for a heartbeat, then two, then three. The clock kept on ticking.

And then, amazingly, Saria's lips slowly split into a wide grin. "_Awesome_."

"What?"

"You know I _always _thought I was special in some way."

"Special?" The word almost spluttered from his lips.

"Yeah. You know - unique." She giggled. "Different. Just - ahhhh."

Words seemed to have escaped her as her voice just dissolved into a contented sigh.

Shock reeled around Gortram's head. He blinked away tears. His mind tried to process what it had just witnessed. And then, years of experience wrapped up in a thick Goron skin made its way to the surface on a ship marked 'The Captain is Back.'

"Ugh," spat Gortram. He leaned back in his chair. It creaked. "Special? Unique?"

"Uh huh." Saria seemed to be enjoying his discomfort. "Uh _huh._"

Gortram growled. "Typical adolescent."

"Really? Am I? A teen? Like, permanently?"

"Well, sprog, the only adult I see around here is _me._" He jabbed a thick thumb toward his own chest.

Saria dismissed him with a wave. "You're just jealous, you oldie _old _person." She grinned. "Hey, did I hear right? I'm like, indestructible, yeah?"

"_No,_" the captain replied, happy to be back as his old grumpy self. "_If _your mechanical heart were to survive some sort of attack, then a new body could've been rebuilt. _If _we had the tech to do so. Which we don't."

"Ha!" Saria was literally bouncing in her chair now. "Remember issue 73 of _The Whistleblower?"_

Gortram's face darkened. "No. What of it?"

"_That _was the issue where they said that there was a secret project to build organic mechs for the army. I showed it to you, yeah? And you said to me -" Saria deepened her voice in a fairly good imitation of Gortram's "- _hogwash and baloney, sprog. Your brain's gonna rot from reading that tripe. Grumble, grumble, moan, moan._"

Gortram stared. Silence fell. Then, something happened. Something amazing.

Saria's hand shot up as she pointed. "Your lip twitched!"

"Didn't."

"Did!"

"You're imagining things. You've gone completely -" But he could hold it in no longer. With a snort and a splutter to set it off, Captain Gortram exploded into a howl of laughter. Saria, overcoming her shock in an instant, joined him a moment later.

"Ha!" she cried. "Ha _haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"_

It was a while later after Gortram had wiped the tears from his eyes and Saria had likewise wiped her nose with her sleeve that the young girl spoke again. "So," she sniffed. "What do we do now? What's going to become of me? Who am I supposed to be?"

Captain Gortram beamed. "Sprog," he replied, shoulders sagging as sweet relief coursed through them. "You can be whoever you want to be."

Saria smiled and reached over the table to take his hand. Gortram squeezed.

"Come on," he growled. "You've got questions about your mother, I know. I'll tell you all I can. Later."

"Thanks."

"Let's get back out there, hey?"

"You bet."

"Get this job done first."

The emotion between them was palpable: Happiness riding on waves of relief. They grinned at each other.

Saria threw him a salute. "Aye, aye, Captain."

...

"This...is distressing news."

Prince Ralis's face flickered in mid-air above the snow-swept deck of the _Maximus. _It was an image, of course - the tech pirate Mako had managed to cobble together a makeshift com device that didn't need the aid of a fairy. Managed to do so just from scraps lying around the ship, too.

"I know," said Link softly. He rubbed his eyes to rid them of the last traces of sleep. He hoped it wouldn't come across as disrespectful. Good thing he was stifling his yawns. "I just thought...you would want to know."

Link winced as a flurry of snow spat into his face. He ached all over. The scratches on his face, the sharp sting whenever he tried to turn his neck, his eye and nose swollen, the scar on his chest - all mementos from his recent battles with clones, palace guardsmen and, last and certainly not least, Ganondorf Dragmire himself.

Those were all physical wounds, though. They were manageable. His med-skills had seen to that. The other injuries were a tad more tricky. The hollowness deep in his heart, for example. The emptiness. The void.

"You are correct," Prince Ralis said, snapping Link back to attention. "And I thank you." A line of electronic 'snow' slid down the length of the Zora's grey image. "Ah...I hate to ask, but what was done with her...body?"

"I don't know," Link replied. He stopped himself from running a hand through his hair. Didn't want to appear too informal now, did he? "Her crew took care of that. I didn't ask. I doubt they'd tell."

Ralis nodded. "Understandable." More static warped his image. He paused, then, "And the Gorons? No issues with them? They didn't block your departure?"

A faint smile touched Link's lips. "They didn't get a chance, Your Highness. As soon as we found the _Maximus_ we got out of there, quick as you like."

"I see," he said. "And you. You are on your way to...?"

Link's smile thinned. "Well, I'll be off now. Just wanted you to know. About Tetra."

Prince Ralis laughed. "I understand. I wish you well in whatever path you have chosen. If you ever need any aid...?"

"Yeah," said Link. He saw sparks start to sputter from the wires rigged up to the com device. Without a fairy the machine wasn't going to last long. "Thanks. I'm out."

The image collapsed into a glowing dot that hung there for a moment before vanishing completely. Link turned around. More snow - real snow now, not the static you saw on a screen when you got no signal - caught on a winding ribbon of wind and flew across his vision. He huddled closer in his too-thin overcoat. His dark gloves caught flecks of falling snow that began to melt the moment they touched the leather skin. His breath puffed from his lips. The tails of his long green coat flapped in the icy wind.

_Yup, I can say with almost a hundred percent certainty that this is no Kokiri summer._

The map Dragmire had given them had led here: the mountainous range known as Snowpeak. The Gerudo had helpfully marked the spot with a red 'X'. Somewhere around here was where Dragmire had hidden himself. All they had to do now was find out exactly where.

_Bit weird that a desert people would choose to hole themselves up in the coldest place in Hyrule._

Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw Captain Gortram sidle out of the Goron's ready room and slip into a seat centred in the middle of the deck. Gortram had dubbed it 'The Captain's Chair', a manual control device of wheels, gears and a stained keypad all set to the arms of a tattered seat. Saria joined him, standing at his side.

It was via this crude device that Gortram had made their juddering process here. 'Juddering' was the right word for it, too. The ship had rolled, jolted and bounced its way here in such a rough fashion that even some of the hardened tech pirates had been airsick. Not the Goron's fault, of course. All captains had rudimentary training on how to pilot a ship, but the plain truth was that the vessels had been built for only one single navigator: the ship's fairy.

Link peered over the side. The _Maximus _was flying at a low altitude - all the better to avoid traditional shipping lines when you didn't have a fairy guiding you - and Link could clearly see the land below. It was covered with a blanket of pure white; an occasional splash of icy blue a rare highlight. Once or twice, he spotted scurrying shapes cutting tracks in the settled snow. Yeti. Had to be. The land was harsh and hostile but Link knew from his Academy studies that Yeti were native to this part of Hyrule.

Link turned back. The crew of the _Waking Wind _faced him. Mild surprise rippled his brow.

Link looked into the eyes of each tech pirate's eyes in turn. He didn't know what to say to them. He never did in situations like this. He felt sad at losing Tetra - especially after she'd proven herself to be just as beautiful as Zelda deep inside - but he knew that his sorrow was nothing compared to theirs. To the point that he felt slightly embarrassed to feel anything at all. He'd only been a passing acquaintance in her life - _these _guys were her true friends.

Each man stared back at him, stony-faced. Only the pinch of skin around their eyes - and the darkness in their eyes themselves - betrayed any hint of their grief. Apparently they expected him to speak. Link hadn't been ready for that.

"Um," he said, running fingers through his hair. "I really don't know what to say to you all. I'm glad you're still with us - actually, why _are_ you still with us?"

It was Senza who spoke. He seemed to be their unofficial spokesman now. He flashed Link a gap-toothed smile. "Unfinished business, matey."

"Yeah," added Gonzo. "We know we're you're headed. We'd like a piece of the Gerudo ourselves. Ain't that right, Nudge?"

The big pirate grunted in response.

"And besides," Senza went on. "Think we'd be happy crewing your little mining ship."

Link was caught by surprise at that. "Really?"

"Yeah, really, matey. On one condition, though."

"What's that?"

Senza licked his lips. "That you join us."

"Join you?" Link frowned. "If _you're _joining the crew, then I'm already-"

"I meant," said Senza as he held up a hand. "You lot become tech-pirates like us."

"Pirates?" Link didn't like where this was going. He glanced over at Gortram for help. "Us?"

Senza kept his gaze steadily trained on Link. "Well you're hardly going to be scurrying back to the Gorons now, are ye?"

The whistling wind filled the gap in conversation as Link struggled to find a reply. It was Gortram who spoke instead.

"He's right, y'know."

Link raised an eyebrow. "You too?"

"Could be fun, lad. It's not like we're going to have our pick of careers now that we've got both the Gorons _and_ Princess Midna's hackles up. Assuming we even live through this, that is."

Link shivered under another blast of icy air. "We could work for Prince Ralis."

"As what?" Gortram countered. "Fishermen?"

Senza cut in. "There's another condition, too."

Link turned to him. "What's that? And why are there _any _conditions in the first place?"

The tech-pirate ignored the second point. "We want you to be our Captain-in-training, matey."

"What?"

"Yeah."

"Are you serious? Captain?"

"In training. You ain't there yet, mate. But you got potential."

Link instinctively shook his head. "No. No, no, no. As long as we're on this ship, Gortram is Captain."

The Goron piped up. "Hate to say it, but he's right again. Don't want the job no more. In fact, I quit."

Link continued to shake his head, stunned. "Right. You're all officially insane."

"I'll be happy to help you out, though" said Gortram. "I can see the potential in you, too."

"What?" Link replied. "Potential? To do what? Put us all in constant danger? To get us all killed?"

"I'm serious, lad," Gortram countered. His chair swung around to face Link with a laboured creak. "You do have what it takes. How come everyone can see it except you?"

"Because there's nothing to see!" Link threw up his hands. "I'm not the type to give orders. I'd be happier not to, in fact."

"That's the _best_ type." Gortram looked over at Senza. "Right?"

The pirate nodded. "You bet, matey." A web of snowflakes caught in his hair, giving his head the appearance of being frosted over. "You think Miss Tetra wanted to be captain? Nah. Well reluctant she was. Wehad to talk her into it when we saw she had it in her."

Link narrowed his eyes. "I dunno. That doesn't sound like Captain Tetra to me."

Senza grinned. "I bet it doesn't. It's the ones that don't want to be in charge that make the best job of it. Me? Gonzo? You wouldn't believe the ambition lurking in our filthy hearts, mate. Nudge knows. Ask him. Right, Nudge?"

The big pirate merely grunted.

Link wasn't about to be so easily thrown off track. "You're so 'ambitious' that you're just going to hand the captaincy over to me." A sour look of disbelief crossed his face. "Right."

"What can I say?" Senza replied. "Miss Tetra's...ah... philosophy shall we call it...rubbed onto us. Even _before_ we made her cap."

Link flinched as yet another flurry of snow hit his eyes. "How do you know I don't have the same ambitions myself?"

He actually jumped when four of them - Senza, Gonzo, Gortram and even _Saria _- all replied in one voice: "We just know!"

The others just grinned and nodded. "Come _on, _man,"Niko chirped. "You'll be great!"

"Iz true," said Zuko with a firm nod. "I do heartily agree."

Link began to wonder if this wasn't all some practical joke to lighten the mood. Whatever it was, the attention they were giving him was making him feel very uncomfortable. He began moving away, the soles of his boots sliding on the damp planks of the deck. A motion from Captain Goron made him pause.

The Goron had lifted himself out his seat. He gestured. "Take it, lad. Captain's chair. It's yours." He glanced down at the battered thing, frowned, then pulled a dirty rag from his belt and began whacking away. "Just let me take care of these crumbs..."

"Stop it," said Link. This was _definitely _a prank. It had to be. "All of you. I decline. I'm not taking it. No."

"Fine," said Senza, folding his arms. "Let's move on, shall we?" The drone of the ship's engines pulsed in the slight pause. "We're going after Dragmire, right? What's your plan, mate?"

"I don't have one," Link replied truthfully.

"Uh huh."

Link let out a breath that plumed into the air as steam. "Basically we need to get Zelda on our side. And we need to get the Master Sword in her hands."

"Piece of cake, then." The pirate chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Let's get this straight, though. She only has to _touch _the sword, right? To open the...?"

"Eye of Equilibrium," Link replied, voice flat. "Assuming Princess Midna was telling the truth."

"Or wasn't misinformed," said Senza. "So that powers up the sword. And that can pierce Dragmire's metal shell."

"Right."

"So does it have to be _her_ that kills him? So long as we get her to open the Eye, one of us could finish the job...?"

Link shrugged apologetically.

"Great," the pirate replied. "And what about them there Triforce pieces?"

Link hesitated. He could feel the weight of the two pieces hanging from the pouches on his belt. It reassured him - though he didn't know why - and was as comforting as the sword strapped to his back and the hookshot bracelet around his wrist.

"Haven't a clue," he said at last. "Sorry. We're not very prepared."

"Too right we ain't," said Senza.

"More time would be nice, yeah. But my friends are in danger."

"Aye, fair enough." Senza didn't actually look too convinced. "So what _do _we know about the Triforce?"

"Well," said Link. "Midna seemed convinced it could be used against Ganondorf. I have no idea how. Obviously, Dragmire himself believes it. He wants my two pieces to add to his - to destroy, I guess. At the moment, it's our only bargaining chip."

The small pirate Mako waved for attention. "Miss Tetra could manipulate the Power one," he said. "Shame her device was damaged when she...uh...you know..."

"Yeah," said Link quickly. "Could you build another one?"

"With the resources I've got here?" said Mako. "Sure. Have you got a year?"

Link sighed. There was no point turning back to try and find the stuff they needed, too. Ganondorf Dragmire didn't strike Link as the patient type. He recalled the images the Gerudo had shown him, the images of Navi and Zelda. In pain.

"Of course," Mako added. "There _is _a neat bit of tech over there I could clone for parts." He made an unsubtle gesture in Saria's general direction. "If I could just take a look..."

The young girl noticed. "Don't even think it, shorty."

Link resisted the urge to shake his head. Mako had made it clear that he wanted to 'study' Saria after finding out exactly what she was. For 'scientific curiosity' he'd said. Link certainly hoped it wasn't anything other than that.

His captain spoke next. "Uh...Link."

The Hylian turned quickly at the odd tone in Gortram's voice. The Goron was still standing, cloth hanging limply from his fingers, as he stared across the _Maximus's _deck towards the bow.

Link followed his gaze - then froze. A silhouette of an icy peak loomed in front of them through the snow-blurred air. A single tree sat at its tip, jutting out from a rock, and bare except for a few scant leaves seemingly formed from blue ice. That wasn't what had attracted their attention, though. The entire face of the mountain was open - a gaping hole that revealed a dark hangar occupied with small vessels etched with Gerudo markings. Blinking red lights marked the outer perimeter of cavernous entrance.

"Looks like we're here, lad," Gortram breathed.

"Where'd that come from?" said Gonzo. "How come we didn't see this earlier?"

"Ah," said Mako. "Cloaking tech, I'd guess. Only just been turned off as we approached."

"It's Dragmire." Link slowly looked around at them all before fixing his gaze straight ahead once again. His heart felt cold as it thumped loudly in his chest. "We all ready?"

"Oh, sure," said Senza. Despite his tone there was a tight edge to his voice. "Going with the no-plan plan, right?"

"Don't have a choice now," Link murmured in reply. "We're expected. We just have to get the Master Sword to Zelda. You guys get the sword. I'll talk to Zelda."

"Right, boys," said Senza, turning around to face his fellow pirates. "Let me translate that for you: Basically, we're dead."

Link ignored him. He knew the plan was stupid. Knew that they knew, too. Something else was propelling him here. Something whispering at the edge of his consciousness, offering him reassurances, telling him that all he had to do was find both Dragmire and Zelda and everything else would fall neatly into place. He listened to it. Listened, and submitted.

_Know, don't think._

Link drew his sword. It pulsed with light energy, bathing his face in a golden glow. Snowflakes sizzled as they drifted too close. "See, Zelda?" he said in a low whisper that only he could hear. "I told you. I'm back." A gust of snow-speckled snow howled in his ears. He flexed his fingers around the hilt of his energy-sword. "I'm back for you."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

His boot pushed down on metal, glass and plastic, the material slowly cracking under his weight. Link kicked the sputtering piece of broken tech out of the way. It skittered noisily across the floor. An abnormally loud buzz of energy reverberated through the air of the darkened Gerudo hangar bay, punctuated here and there by the sharp crackle of sparking wires. Parts of the chamber _were_ lit, but only by a sickly neon glow.

Zuko whistled softly in awe. "Iz all a mess. A broken mess."

"Keep it quiet," Senza warned, voice stern. "Let's not draw any attention."

Link nodded and crept slowly on. He had taken point; the others skulking closely behind. Tense and cautious, they each gripped their respective weapons - the tech pirates had their energy-swords, Gortram had a plain old axe and even Saria hadn't come unarmed; Niko had lent her a marble-handled dagger whose blade pulsated with a gentle current of faint energy.

Behind them, snugly anchored, there sat _The Righteous Maximus_, safe and sound, a ladder dangling over its side. Link found her presence reassuring.

The little group moved in further. The air was awash with that same sharp, unnatural buzzing. The sound reminded Link of the noise a piece of tech made in its death throes. An apt analogy - all around them were the signs of complete decay.

Pictovid screens displaying nothing but static hung from broken hinges. Gears and cogs, stained with grease, lay spilled across the dirty metal floor. Bent metal panels had peeled off the walls and were struggling to stay attached. Broken cords spat sparks as they sat coiled on the ground. Zuko was right - the place was a mess.

"Looking likely there's no one here," said Senza quietly.

"And whoever _was_ here left in a hurry," added Saria.

Link swallowed the sour taste from his mouth. Tension thrummed in his every muscle. He hoped he hadn't come all this way for nothing. There was a flicker in his heart, one that tickled him with every beat, one that he tried to hold safely at bay. It whispered to him an alluring promise: _You're going to see Zelda again. Yes, you are. _It took him a valiant effort to not listen.

_I don't need the distraction._

"Hey, Mako," Gonzo said. "Hop to it. What you got for us?"

The diminutive pirate looked up, rummaged around in his pockets, then pulled free a pair of goggles that he wrapped snugly over his glasses. He pressed at something on the side and glowing streams of data trickled down each lens.

"Disintegration," he said flatly. "Slow. The whole place is collapsing."

Saria muttered under her breath, "Tell us something we don't know."

Link ignored her. "How long?"

Mako shrugged. "Can't tell. Wouldn't bet on more than an hour, though."

Resolve flooded Link's chest. "We better get on with it then."

A pictovid screen suddenly exploded. They all jumped. The ground rumbled slightly. Link glanced around, his wide eyes the only sign that he was otherwise alarmed.

A faint metallic chuckle echoed around the chamber, multiplying over and over as it bounced off the metallic walls.

"_Disintegration, yes." _Ganondorf's voice seemed to coming from all directions. "_Or a self-destruct, if you like. I'll have to build another hangar, of course. Such fun constructing __**this **__one under the very noses of the Alliance." _He chuckled again, a sound like the echo of a hammer in an immense forge. "_Oh and it's about forty minutes you have. I do hope we can all come to a resolution before then."_

As if to punctuate the point a piece of the wall facing them burst apart in a spray of flame, spewing sparks and burnt black metal. A second explosion followed - this time a door flying off its hinges, revealing a corridor beyond.

"That's it," said Link as the curtain of smoke drifted apart. "Through there."

Senza arched an eyebrow. "Follow the trail of sparks, eh?"

"He wants us to find him."

"That's what scares me, matey."

Link couldn't help but agree. He wasn't going to say it out loud, though. There was no way Dragmire was going to make it this easy for them. The thought accompanied him as they all stepped through into the corridor. Link held his sword slightly askew ahead of him. His heart thudded slowly. He could hear its rhythm roar in his ears, could feel claws of tension scrape at his guts. His veins tingled.

The whisper in his heart had grown bold now. Each step, it promised, would bring him closer to his long-lost friend. The surge of hope was agonising. This time Link didn't resist.

_Whatever happens, let me just see Zelda one more time. Please. Let me see her._

Link's eyes were suddenly drawn to his sword. Its energy field had just flickered, ever so slightly. A frown rippled over his brow. The energy hummed, then buzzed.

Then began to crackle.

Link froze, the moisture drying instantly in his mouth.

_Distracted! I shouldn't have let myself be -_

An inhuman screech marked the boom of a collapsing wall. A Moblin flew out of the fresh opening, steel daggers in each hand. Link, stunned for just a heartbeat, moved swiftly into action. His sword _thrummed _through the air, a blur of glowing energy and steel, as he drove it through the creature's chest, catching it in mid-air.

Two more blows followed - Nudge and Senza swords pinning the thing's head to the remains of the wall. Its cry died in its throat as the last of its air hissed slowly from its dying lungs. Broken masonry crumbled from the wall and rained down on its head.

"Sorry," Mako squeaked, his face blanched. He fiddled with his goggles. "I should've seen that coming."

"No harm done," said Senza as he tried to calm his breathing. He glanced at the dead Moblin, then tugged his sword free. "At least not to us."

Saria grimaced as they passed the creature by. "Ugh," she said. Her sweat-glistened palm gripped tightly to the carved hilt of her dagger. "Ugly or _what._"

Gortram nudged Link softly, then gestured with his axe. "Steps, lad. Up ahead."

Link just nodded. When they reached the stairs, he tested the first step with his boot.

It creaked but held.

He gave another nod, a signal to the others, then began to climb. It was darker here. A sputtering bulb hung from a frayed wire above. The light faded in and out, in and out...

A cool breeze ghosted against his skin. Link felt his every muscle, sinew and nerve coiled tight as a newly-forged spring. There was silence now, except for their collective breathing and the creak of boots on stairs.

Link's nose twitched. The acrid stench of burning plastic and metal was starting to make his head throb. His vision shimmered. The barest whisper of relief touched his heart as he spotted the opening up ahead. Link gestured again. Ducking under some overhanging cables, they at last reached the landing above - and found another corridor stretched out ahead of them.

They breathed in smoke-tinted air as they crept onward, glass and debris crunching under their boots. Link took the lead once again, sword brought to bear. The others followed, the pirates with weapons at the ready, too, glancing this way and that as they searched for any hint of danger. Data represented by glowing letters of green spilled down the lenses of Mako's goggles.

Warning lights, scarlet and silent, flashed on and off, on and off, plunging the whole passageway in a deep red hue every other second. More sparks spat from the ceiling. Link winced.

Something moved. A flicker at the corner of the eye. Link whirled - just in time to see a rat waddle its way into the shadows.

"Don't get spooked now," Gonzo murmured.

Link threw him a scornful glance. Easy for the pirate to say. Were Gonzo's arms prickling with the same sense of anticipation Link's were?

The lights went out.

They stopped, the sound of their collective breathing - now shallow and rapid - hanging in the air. Darkness surrounded them on all sides. Their only illumination was the glow of their weapons coupled with the glowing cascade of data flashing on Mako's goggles.

An eerie moan cut through the air. The little group tensed as one then all faced forward. The moan came again, this time joined with a gasping breath and the sound of shuffling feet.

"Mako...?" Link whispered.

"I'm not getting anything," the pirate replied in an equally hushed voice. "No life signs."

The warning lights flashed on and off again. They saw it then, a silhouette of a hunched form dragging itself through the shadows toward them. Another moan pierced the air, louder this time, weighed down by menace and grief. The lights buzzed back on.

It was a woman, dressed in a tattered cobweb of a dress, her arms out in front of her, her skin as grey as ash and her eyes the colour of molten copper. Her hair was nothing more than a hive of slowly coiling wires, twisting and winding like snakes. Hissed and rattled like them, too.

"ReDead virus," Mako announced.

"Can we save her?" asked Link.

"Negative."

"Then let's try and get pa-"

One of the coiling wires suddenly snapped straight like a whip, its sparking tip missing Nudge by a hair. Gonzo reacted the quickest, sprinting forward, then driving in with his blade - the ReDead deflected it easily with another snap of its wires.

"Aim for the head!" cried Mako. "Aim for the head!"

Nudge heard this, nodded, and lunged in with his crackling sword, the steel flashing red under the corridor's warning lights. One of the ReDead's wires swept out to deflect the attack with such force that the pirate was thrown grunting into the wall.

But in that moment she was exposed - Link's arm flew up, one eye narrowed, and squeezed hard on the hookshot trigger. The spike flew. It buzzed as it spun through the air, then drove straight through the zombie woman's forehead. She took a few staggering steps back. Then she hung there for a heartbeat, her copper eyes slowly turning inward, before crumbling totally into a cloud of grey ash. The hookshot spike clattered noisily to the ground.

"Nice work," grunted Nudge.

High praise, Link thought, especially as he'd hardly ever heard the big pirate speak. He let free a lengthy breath. Link hadn't even realised he'd been holding it.

"I've got something," said Mako as Link retracted the spike. The pirate adjusted one lens. "Life signs. Three. Up ahead."

Link nodded to the others. "Keep moving."

The wall to their right fell away revealing a darkened room that seemed to stretch out endlessly in a black abyss. Link barely gave it a glance.

"Link!"

He snapped his head to the side at the sound. "Navi...?"

There she was in that darkened room, far at the back, a tiny fluttering glow. Zelda, unmasked, stood beside her. Link felt his heart clench.

The two women weren't alone, either. A smirking Ganondorf Dragmire stood directly behind them, arm cannon trained on their necks, the unmistakeable purple glow of his Darkhide armour giving the chamber its only source of faint light. The Triforce of Wisdom lay at the toe of his booted feet. He had a leather bag slung over his shoulder - the same one that Link had placed the Master Sword in when he'd taken it from the museum

Link stepped into the room. Leather creaked as his gloved hand motioned for the crew to follow. They began to fan out as they approached closer and closer. The room was large, and Ganondorf stood in patient silence with his two prisoners. As Zelda's face finally came clearer into view, Link searched it for a sign. Any sign.

She favoured him with nothing more than a cool gaze in return. His heart twisted.

"_My, my, what's this?_" said Dragmire. "_I wasn't expecting so many of you."_

Link didn't reply. His eyes maintained their search of Zelda's face while his mind worked to find a solution. _Assess the situation..._

"Well, matey," said Senza, uncowed. "You invited us to this party. The moment you killed Captain Tetra."

Ganondorf cocked an eyebrow. "_Who?"_

Link heard Gonzo growl under his breath, saw his arms tense under his shirt. Senza had to quickly place a calming hand on his friend's shoulder.

_"You," _said the Gerudo as he turned slightly to fully face Link. "_Give me the Triforce pieces. Set them on the floor and slide them over. I will hand over your two friends. The Master Sword, too."_

Link stopped. "Why would you do that? You know what'd happen if Zelda touches the sword."

"_She will not use it against me,"_ Dragmire replied smugly.

Link slowly looked from the Gerudo to his old friend then back again. "How do you know that?"

_"Let me elaborate, as you've clearly not grasped the gravity of your situation. I am giving you but one choice: take your friends and escape. It but pleases me to watch you attempt this. I, of course, will warp clear. You, on the other hand, will all die when the place detonates - Master Sword and all."_

"So why would we even want to do this deal?"

"_I know your sort," _Dragmire snorted. "_You have hope. You people always have hope. It's right there in your eyes. I can see it. Pathetic. You're feeling it now, aren't you, boy?"_

Link couldn't help but glance at Zelda as that whispering flicker sped in his quickly beating heart.

_"Ha!" _Link felt sickened at the sight of Ganondorf's grin. He'd proven the Gerudo right. "_You still believe you can somehow beat the odds. I call it arrogance myself."_

"Why," said Senza, cutting in, "does it 'please' you to watch us try 'n' escape? That how you get your kicks, matey?"

"_You cut me to the core - but you are right." _Dragmire smiled. _"I am the saviour of my people. I vilified them for their indolent ways. But the truth is I'm just as weak as them. Even I need amusement, need entertainment, need bread and games just as much as they did. Why else would I keep this wench Zelda alive? Why else are you all still standing?"_

Ganondorf slid the leather bag down his free arm, hung it out by his side, then let it slump to the ground. "_Enough talk. Time is short. The Triforce pieces. Hand them over. Now."_

Link licked his lips. He unbuttoned the pouch on his belt. Reaching in, he scooped up the two triangular items, then held them out on his palm. His eyes spied their ornate carving, the intricate runes threaded deep into the surface. Link upturned his hand and the pieces clattered to the ground.

_"Kick them over."_

Link held himself steady. He flicked a glance at Senza who responded with a faint nod. His grip tightened around his sword. Now. It had to be now.

"Let them go first."

Dragmire's eyes glittered in the near-darkness. "_Very well."_

He snapped his fingers. Link braced himself, ready. The moment Zelda and Navi were clear...

Saria and Niko screamed. Link and his friends whirled. The two smallest crewmembers both stood bolt upright as crackling lassos of lightning sparked all around them. Their stretched faces flashed chalk-white every other second.

"Sprog!" Gortram cried, reaching out.

Link spun back to Dragmire. "Let them go!"

The Gerudo hissed with quiet menace. "_You're being too slow. Kick. The. Triforce. OVER."_

Link grit his teeth. He threw one last glance in Saria's direction then, with a snarl of exasperation, he kicked.

Released by the energy coils, Saria fell feet-first to the ground. She toppled over instantly. Gortram leapt and caught her just in time. Niko slumped to the ground, surrounded quickly by his pirate crewmates.

Link breathed out in relief. His heart, though, smouldered with indignation.

_Our two weakest. Adding it to the list, Dragmire. Adding it to the list._

A burnt orange glow dragged Link's gaze downward. The space around both Triforce pieces - no, all _three _pieces - had begun to melt open. Link stood stunned for a moment, then quickly leapt to grasp at -

The Triforce fell through the newly made holes.

Link snapped his gaze back up.

"_Now," _said Ganondorf, grinning. "_Goodbye. The clock is ticking."_

He snapped his fingers again. This time there was no warning, no glow to signify what was happening.

The metal beneath their feet tore open.

Instinct made Link leap. When he hit the floor he leapt again in an awkward somersault, then fell to the ground - just in time to see it open up once more. His foot caught the edge, ankle protesting sharply in pain. He threw himself forward once more, this time flailing all the way.

He hit the ground in the corridor beyond and slid across the floor, his sword gouging a blackened scar into the metal ground. He looked up. All his friends were gone. Yawning gaps in the ground revealed where they'd last stood. As Dragmire's laugh began to echo, Link saw Navi suddenly dive forward and fly into one of the fresh holes.

Zelda then leapt, slashing at Dragmire's arm, metal glinting purple in her fist. Confused, Link gaped as he saw Ganondorf backhand his childhood friend. Anger twisting his features, a snarling Dragmire stalked in toward Zelda. She didn't flinch - just threw herself forward again, her eyes narrow and hard.

Link had seen enough. He sprung forward, ready to dive back in and -

A glass wall fell from above, landing with a hollow thump and barring his path. His heart spiked in painful thrusts in his chest.

_What was happening? _Link slapped his sword-free hand against the glass. _What was going on?_

Another metal panel blew open above his head. Sparks spat from the torn wires. Smoke drifted in the air. Link swallowed, his throat tight and dry, as he tried to peer in through the new wall.

Movement caught his eye. Link's heart froze in a painful vice. He saw a blurred figure, slim and so achingly familiar, approach the other side of the translucent wall.

Link placed his free palm against the frosted glass. Moisture evaporated from the roof of his mouth. Blue eyes watched him with a steady gaze.

"Zelda..."

"Link."

Her voice was muffled by the barrier.

"What happened?"

She turned slightly, as if checking on something behind her, then turned back. "I am being distracting him. For a moment, at least."

"What did you do?"

There was a hint of a smile in her reply. "I am being the Aveil. I am not one to be coming unarmed."

Link felt something dissolve deep in his soul. Words erupted like lava from his heart. "Zelda," he said, breathing hard as though he wouldn't have the strength to say what he wanted. "All those years back. When I left you to Dragmire. I just wanted to say. I just _have _to say -"

She placed the tip of her finger against the glass directly opposite his lips. "Shh." Her voice was gentle. "I know."

Link's heart skipped a beat. "You remember?"

"I am remembering what was important." She lifted her finger then leaned in to place the spot with a soft kiss. "I love you."

Link felt his eyes burn. A dizzying joy swam in his heart. "Zelda..."

She stood, her eyes still fixed on his. Then, without a word, she turned and began to walk.

"Zelda...?"

The sickening realisation hit him instantly. She was going to go after Ganondorf again. Alone.

"No..."

She'd have to get close to take the Master Sword from him. And in that time she'd be open to attack. Vulnerable. She'd get Dragmire, sure - and probably die in the process.

Link slapped his palm against the glass once again. "Zelda," he croaked. "Zelda, no."

She didn't look back. "Yes."

"I don't want you to go."

She paused, then turned her head. Her sad smile mirrored the sorrow shimmering in her ever-wide eyes. "I must."

"NO!"

He began pounding at the glass. Zelda had already been swallowed by the darkness beyond. With a snarl, Link whirled his sword then ploughed it into the wall. Crystal chips flew back into his face, but the barrier still held. He pulled his sword free, took a few steps back, readied himself, then ran up and drove the blade in. Energy crackled. Glass cracked. He freed his sword again, then went at it with his boots, kicking the now fragile wall. It shattered after only a few more moments. Link dived in.

He heard Zelda scream. Link ran, his chest still painfully tight, his heart hammering. He didn't have time to wonder about the fate of his friends. There was a clash of metal. Another scream followed. Link felt his stomach liquefy.

He could see them in the distance. Ganondorf was standing over her, a sword in his hand. Whatever Zelda had done, it had been enough to damage his arm cannon. It lay on his forearm, limp and mangled.

Zelda's Aveil armour had already been pierced at the arm. Link saw the crimson glisten of blood. She had a cut to the head, too - rivulets of red were falling down her face.

"_So, Princess Zelda," _Dragmire crowed. "_You have dared to rise against me?"_

Zelda glanced up, bewildered.

"_Ha! You don't even know who you are!"_

"Stop!"

Link dived in with a thrust, but realised too late his mistake.

_Stupid! Why did I just announce my presence to him?_

Ganondorf spun around with an almost lazy swing of his sword. It crackled into Link's and sliced it straight in two.

"_Fine," _spat the Gerudo as he shifted his weight and tossed his weapon from one hand to the other. "_I have a few minutes. Let's have some sport."_

Link was gazing open-mouth down at his broken sword. The click of Dragmire's fingers made him look up - just in time to catch Zelda's panicked glance as she, too, fell through a hole in the floor.

Ganondorf, grinning, slowly approached, his sword buzzing as he jabbed the air. Link, backing slowly away, glanced over at the leather bag laying unnoticed on the floor, then flicked his gaze over at the opening Zelda had just fallen through.

He knew three things instantly: He had to get the Master Sword. He had to get down to the next level to Zelda.

And he probably only had a handful of minutes to do it in, too.

...

The wind whistled past Senza's ears as he tumbled down the shaft. Damp walls flew past him, grimy and flecked copper with rust. It amazed him that he even noticed this. Especially since he had more pressing issues: the ground rushing up toward his eyes for one. The pirate braced himself.

"Oof!" Whatever he'd hit was soft and moist. A chorus of grunts told him that his mates had made it, too. Senza was the first to raise his head, shaking it as he did so.

"Still alive," he said, slowly rising. They were in a dingy chamber with beads of moisture coating each wall. Brown water spewed from a grille in the wall. It spattered into the ground. "You guys good?"

As the others nodded in assent, Senza gazed down at the floor. He pressed it with the toe of his boot. The floor sprung under his touch. "What is this place?"

Before anyone could reply, a sprinkle of light blossomed from above. They all looked up. Senza went instinctively for his sword.

"Navi!" cried Saria as the light burst into view.

"Hey," the fairy replied, her voice echoing in the chamber.

Senza frowned, grip relaxing slightly on his hilt. "You with us?"

"Absolutely." It was a growling Captain Gortram who had replied.

Senza threw him a glance, then just shrugged. "As long as she puts in a shift."

"Hey!" the little woman cried. "I am Navi the Fairy!"

Senza frowned again. "Yeah...?"

"Glad you've heard of me," she beamed. "Since you have, you _must _know that you don't doubt the Nav-ster."

"The what now?"

"Are you..." said Niko, gazing up in awe. He blinked. "Are you someone famous, lady?"

Pleasure shone from the fairy's already bright face. "Well, I don't want to brag but -"

"Hmm..." said Mako, turning all attention to him. He was crouching, prodding the ground with one hand as his other adjusted his goggles. "This isn't good..."

Senza felt his heart skip. "Not good? I'm not a fan of not good. Fill us in, Mako mate."

He didn't get the chance. Metal tore open in the ceiling above with an echoing screech. A figure fell through, arms wind-milling, then hit the soft ground with a faint grunt. The pirates rounded on the newcomer instantly, swords at the ready.

"No, no, no! Stop!" cried Navi, wings fluttering as she flew protectively in front. "It's Zelda! She's with us! Really!" Desperation flooded her voice. "She does shifts, too!"

Zelda groaned and shook her head. Opening her eyes, she slowly began to take in her surroundings. The circle of pirates watched her warily.

"You..." she breathed, her eyes flicking from face to face."You are all being Link's friends?"

"Aye," said Gortram.

Her gaze stopped at the Goron. She sprung forward, suddenly clutching at his sleeve. "Then you must be helping me!"

"Hey...hey!" the startled Goron replied. "Calm down, girl. Tell us what's up."

"Up! Yes!" Her eyes had a feverish tint to them. "I must be getting back up there! I _must _get the Master Sword! Link is not standing a chance against that monster."

Gonzo growled. "I think we've got bigger problems, Miss." He pointed. "Look!"

A faint chittering sound, like the flicker of a thousand insect wings, rose to their ears. Techno-organic tentacles veined with glowing dark energy began to slowly coil up out of the ground all around them. Buzzing steel claws sat atop each one. They snapped and hissed as they drew closer.

"Yep," said Mako calmly as he stood. "Just what I was going to tell you guys about."

The pirates began to huddle closer, back to back, weapons abuzz. "Steady..." said Senza. "Ste-"

With a yell, Nudge slashed at an oncoming feeler. A spray of green liquid flew from its severed limb. The pirate flung his face aside to avoid the spill, then turned slowly back. The maimed tentacle jabbed blindly at the air.

Nudge grinned. "Heh."

The tentacle suddenly stopped. Flesh and metal rippled. Another limb sprouted from the first, steel claws blossoming outward.

Nudge's face fell.

Senza glanced around with tense eyes. "We have to get out of here."

"I can show you the way," said Navi. "Back to the hangar bay."

"No!" cried Zelda. "I must be getting back to Link!" Her eyes turned inward as her voice suddenly fell. "The Master Sword...I am hearing it calling to me..."

She turned on her heel, then began to stalk off. Gonzo caught her by the arm. She snarled as she tried desperately to wriggle free. "Be letting me go!"

Gonzo jabbed at an attacking tentacle. "You won't make it, Miss."

"Then be helping me, not fighting me!"

"We'll try our best," Senza replied, hacking away with his sword.

Saria gave a gurgled yell as she drove her dagger deep into the side of some techno-organic flesh. Pulling her blade free, she quickly hopped over to Zelda's side. Gortram joined her a moment later.

"We ain't leavin' without Link," the Goron growled.

Senza hissed a breath through clenched teeth as he split another tentacle in two. He glanced up. "Lead the way, fairy!"

...

The hookshot spike snapped into life at Link's touch. It whirred through the air, then caught easily on the fallen leather bag, drawing it back to him before Ganondorf even realised what was happening. Link grinned, cradling his prize. Victory!

It was short-lived. A fist to the jaw sent Link sprawling face-first. His spine prickled - the Gerudo could gut him right there and then - and he instantly flipped over onto his back. Link's face ached. Dragmire loomed large in his line of sight. The Gerudo bore down on him hard, sword drawn back and ready.

"_Boy," _the Gerudo growled. _ "I will beat you to within an inch of your life. Then I will watch your friends die as this base falls. The last sound they'll hear is my laughter as I warp free." _

Ganondorf reached him in a mere moment. A booted foot rammed into Link's stomach, winding him. Dragmire followed through with a sword thrust - Link had _just _the presence of mind to roll out of the way. He reached out, found a wall, then clawed himself upright.

The wind shifted.

Link ducked just in time as Ganondorf's sword cut a crackling tear in the wall. Sparks spat as the Gerudo dragged his weapon free.

"_Stay still, little man."_

Link lashed out with an instinctive kick. Dragmire gasped as the blow hit his knee.

Sweat springing from his every pore, Link tried to break into a run, dragging the heavy weight of the Master Sword after him. Link hissed. It hadn't been _this_ dense when he'd sprung it from the museum. He couldn't believe it. The thing was actually refusing to co-operate.

_It's not me it wants, is it? It wouldn't play fair for Princess Midna, and it won't do the same for me. It's just Zelda it wants. I have to get it to her._

Despite being bagged, the cold metal edge of the blade scraped against the floor. Link gasped as he pulled. Old bruises throbbed in time with his newer wounds. He could see Ganondorf walking slowly up to him, could see his smirking face as he raised his sword and -

Link ducked, heard the whisper of sliced air above. An elbow crashed into the side of his throat. For a moment the world went entirely black, then red, then resurfaced in its entirety. Link gasped again, pain riding down his neck into his spine. He heard the chop of a sword being spun, sensed the tensing of his foe as the Gerudo readied the killing blow.

Images flashed in Link's mind, images of Zelda soaked in the warmth of happier memories, happier times. How had it come to this? Dying here in this grimy, forsaken hole as the person he'd loved most in the whole world had slipped yet again from his fingers...?

"_Now will you stay still...?"_

With a gargled yell, Link dragged the bag up and swung it around straight into the side Ganondorf's head. Dragmire toppled away into the darkness.

Link fell to his knees and panted. A chance. Slim, yeah, but now he had a chance.

He had to have a weapon. The hookshot alone wouldn't cut it. Link glanced at the heavy bag. It wasn't just the sword in there, he realised. He'd placed tools in there, too, in his greenish-yellow 'fire crew' clothes, just to maintain the illusion. Surely there was something there he could use...? A hammer, maybe...?

Link knelt, trembling fingers working the bag's zipper. His gloves were too thick and heavy to get a firm hold. His spine prickled. He expected an explosion of pain there any second now. _Any second. _As soon as Ganondorf reached him -

Link pulled one glove off with his teeth. His sweat-glistened fingers slipped on the zipper's catch. Exasperation gargled in his throat. Fear washed through him like a wave. Finally he tore the bag open. His eyes fell upon a small flat-head axe protruding from one the pockets of his fire crew disguise. Yes!

"_Now I have you!"_

Instinct made Link reach down for the axe, his fingers brushing past the cool hilt of the Master Sword and -

A steadily rising whine of energy suddenly ignited from the ancient weapon. Link glanced down, confused. Circular patterns of glowing green lights came to life on the sword's pommel. Metal plates placed in concentric shapes slid apart.

The Eye of Equilibrium opened.

Time stood still. Link felt cool, soothing energy run up his arm. Doubts, thoughts and his whole sense of self melted away. Wounds healed. He saw himself as a tool in the hands of a power he couldn't even fathom. It blotted out his very soul.

Energy ran all the way into his neck, up into his eyes and down each and every one of his vertebrae. As though awakening from a deep sleep, Link swept to his feet, then turned.

Ganondorf gasped. He'd already backed away in shock at the first stirring of the sword. "No."

Data spilled down each of Link's eyes. Numbers. Statistics. He saw winking red spots marking the weak points on the Darkhide armour. Link pointed the Master Sword directly at his foe.

"Your villainy ends here, Ganondorf Dragmire."

"NO!"

Ganondorf leapt in with a pinpoint sword thrust. Link deflected the strike easily, then followed through with a graceful spinning kick that sent Dragmire to the ground. The Gerudo grunted, then leapt up instantly, thrusting again. Link blocked, skewing the attack aside. In that brief moment of vulnerability, Link pounced, driving his nemesis back with strike after strike after strike, all faster than the eye could follow.

Dragmire desperately blocked each blow, but every time he did so a fresh dent would ripple the steel skin of his sword. Link thrust again - this time the Gerudo side-stepped the attack.

Yelling, Ganondorf swung his mangled blade in for a swift arc to the neck. Link ducked, both arms flung out at his sides, his eyes rapidly swallowing in the data the Master Sword was feeding them, then threw himself into an elegant back-flip, his rising boot connecting squarely with Ganondorf's jaw.

Stunned, the Gerudo stumbled back - long enough for Link to run, then slide straight back over. The Master Sword hummed serenely as it sliced through the Darkhide armour and severed both of Ganondorf's arms in two neat swipes. Dragmire dropped to his knees.

Link stood over his fallen nemesis, his face bathed in the emerald glow of the Master Sword. A gasping Ganondorf gazed up at him, coughing up blood.

Link tightened his grip. "Stay still, little man."

The hum of energy grew from a purr to a rising drone then to a roar. An incandescent green blur momentarily stained the dark as Link plunged the Master Sword home.

...

"If it ain't tentacles," gasped Senza, "Then it's bloody Moblins."

The exhausted backed away from the seething mob of pig-like beasts, his shirt cut to ribbons, sweat mingling with scarlet on his skin. They'd tried. Damn hard they'd tried, but they hadn't been even able to reach the stairs that would've led them back to Link.

Shame. He'd liked the guy.

Now Senza and his mates were being pressed back toward the hangar bay, the corridor in front teeming with snorting, snuffling Moblins, the bay itself behind them and shaking violently, random explosions rocking their every step. Masonry fell from a ceiling now split by jagged, wide cracks.

Senza glanced over his shoulder. The _Maximus _waited, swaying serenely from her anchor in spite of the surrounding chaos. His eyes narrowed, calculating. They could make a run for it. If it weren't for all the shaking...

"Where's that fairy?" he barked. "We need her to get the ship going. Where is she?!"

"Here," a little voice called.

Senza looked up - then blinked in surprise. "There's two of you now?"

"This is Honeybell."

"Honey_suckle._"

"Whatever," said Navi. "She's with me. Had to go back for her. Pretty easy, too - the Moblins were busy having a pixie dessert."

Before Senza could even query all this, a sudden scream of rage made him turn back. It was the girl Zelda, fists clenched as she loudly voiced her displeasure at their situation.

_I know how you feel, Miss._

The ground shook again, a tremor that ran through the whole building and almost threw them off their feet. Senza was having none of this. His mates took priority now. They had to get out of here.

"Look!" gasped Saria.

They did. Zelda stopped screaming. Senza had to blink. And blink again.

Over the heads of the oncoming Moblins, Senza and his friends saw a figure running straight toward them. Metal wall panels blew out behind him, step-by-step, in a cascade of purple energy.

"It's Link!" cried Navi.

Indeed it was. And he had the Master Sword in hand. He seemed older somehow. Serene. Calm.

And totally in control.

He reached the Moblin horde and didn't even miss a beat. Link leapt and kicked off of the side wall, igniting his hookshot as he did so. The spike jammed into nook where the wall met the ceiling above and Link swooped overhead in a graceful arc, slashing away at the Moblins.

The hookshot disengaged, and Link flipped slowly over before landing in a crouch, surrounded by enemies. The remaining Moblins surged forward. Link slowly stood, eyes blazing blue with determination, then spun into a whirling attack, the humming Master Sword flashing with every strike. Moblins flew away in all directions. It didn't take him long. Soon he stood alone in a sea of Moblin corpses.

Link turned to face his friends. Despite being encompassed by explosions and bone-jarring tremors, they all stared at him, open-mouthed. Zelda gaped the most.

"You..." she gasped, awed. "It is being choosing you. _You_ are the one being the most worthy."

The whole place was tearing itself apart now. More chunks of debris fell from the ceiling. Flames burst out of the walls.

"All hands!" cried Link, his voice now flooded with steely authority. He pointed. "To the _Maximus_!"

"Oh boy..." said Saria.

"Ha!" cried Gortram in delight.

Senza grinned. "Aye _aye_, Captain!"

Navi clenched her fist. "Yes!"

Link snatched Zelda by the hand and led the way. They ran into the hangar bay, struggling to keep their footing against the shuddering ground. Winding and twisting, they dodged falling debris, then leapt onto the _Maximus's _ladder. The anchor shot upward as the last of them clambered over the side onto the deck.

Explosions detonated all around. "Navi!" cried Link. "Full ahead!"

"Got it," she replied. "_Engaging."_

_The Righteous Maximus _slowly swung around, the growl of her engines slowly rising. The snow-speckled sky beyond beckoned to them. Senza watched wide-eyed. He saw his own fear reflected in Zelda's face, her knuckles drained of blood as she gripped the ship's railing. The _Maximus _shook as another explosion rocked them.

_This is gonna be close._

The _Maximus_ burst out into the air just as a cloud of flame billowed out from the exploding hanger behind them. Senza blew out a long breath in relief.

_That's for you, Miss Tetra._

Out loud, he said, "That's Dragmire done." Satisfaction rang clear in his voice. Burning flecks of debris rained down on the deck and sizzled against the falling snow. "Unless he warped..."

"He didn't," said Link.

The corner of Senza's mouth curled up in a smile. "Good." A thought came to him. "Triforce is gone, too."

No one replied to this.

Senza looked over toward the ship's bow.

Snowy wind whipping at his hair, Link slowly sat in the captain's chair. Zelda crouched beside him. She took his hand. Their eyes met, and they smiled.

"Navi," he said, glancing up.

"What?" she replied as she floated in close. "You want me to take a pictograph? Draw a little heart on it?"

"No," he replied patiently. "I need you to listen."

"That's my line," she muttered. "Actually, you _do_ have to listen. About something I've found in my head."

"You'll have plenty of time to inform me, my dear friend. On this, our next jaunt."

"Why are you talking like that? Have you caught hero-itis?" The little fairy shook her head, baffled. "Forsooth, verily thine hast now truly an expanded diction."

"It's 'thou', not 'thine,'" Link countered quietly. "Plot a course for Castle City, Navi." He placed an arm on the seat rest, eyes narrowed against the oncoming snow, then stroked his chin. "Once again, I would have a _word_ with Princess Midna."


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Now here's an understatement: Link's world had completely changed.

And here's exactly what his eyes saw: numbers, statistics and data spilt in glowing neon and red, his vision funnelling in with a sudden close-up on whatever object or thing the Master Sword had decided demanded his attention.

That wasn't all, though, not by a long shot. It was hard to explain. What he saw now was the whole world, peeled away, revealing the secrets that lay hidden beneath. There, exposed, he saw that which he hadn't even realised existed.

Case in point: Here Link was, a few hours after his encounter with Ganondorf, standing on a bustling Castle City street, his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his coat. Link gazed up at the slender towers of the Emerald Palace like a fresh-faced tourist. Passers-by eddied around him, barely throwing him the briefest glance. The air shimmered above his head, warped by the energy trails of a myriad ships flying overhead.

Various shots of the palace - in different magnifications - trailed down his line of sight. Information ran across his eyes. None of it was encouraging.

But it wasn't _that _that had caught his attention. There were _people _here, flitting in and out of the crowded streets, people that only he, Link, could see. Willowy humanoid figures in billowing, translucent clothes, laughing, solemn, deep in conversation - a whole other race, just outside the perception of the ordinary soul.

He could see straight through to their very cores - to their hearts in fact, beating in either a fluttering green or a stained with a dark purple, depending on the person. Spirits, he assumed, but didn't think that the reality was quite so fanciful.

Some walked on the streets. Some floated through the air. None paid any attention to Link. A whole other world right there, interacting with his own.

The best thing about it all was that Link accepted it without question. He hadn't had any tech implanted in his eyes, hadn't had any other enhancements to his body. It was the Master Sword, pure and simple. It spoke in mind, too. Teaching not with words, but with intuitions that his mind understood without thinking.

_Know, don't think. _

Link allowed himself an inward wry smile at that. His old friend Rauru must have been some sort of sage to have passed _that_ particular nugget onto him.

This is what the Master Sword said: He was seeing through his heart, a conduit which, if properly used, could pierce through the thin membrane of the material world. All the sword had done was polish it - his heart, that is - building upon the innate nobility it had sensed there, using that as a firm foundation from which to catapult him into the heights of a new state of being.

This was ancient - so the Master Sword informed him - as everyone at Hyrule's dawn had had access to this talent, this ability to peer straight into the worlds that lived within worlds. It hadn't lasted. Hearts had begun to rot. Veils dropped in succession, veils of lust, greed, self-importance and irrational fear. Stuffed to the brim with all this, the vision of the heart began to fade, dim, then finally wither away and die.

They'd have been happy, those first people, if they'd just let things be. The wonder of the world and its signs, symbols and meanings would have been enough to satiate the void within. But they turned to other things to fill that emptiness, to ease that inner disquiet, so that over time - the Master Sword said - they could see nothing beyond the urge of their stomachs, the itch of their carnal desires, the trinkets their hands could horde, and the preening of their collective egos.

Dull routine followed, the grind of everyday existence, the fear of poverty and the ever-approaching chasm of death. Their eyes were fine, but they could see no more, not truly. After all, in their self-centred arrogance, if their five senses couldn't detect it, it simply did not exist.

But _reality _remained, even if they didn't acknowledge it. A spark still lingered in the soul, some corner of the heart still yearned. So it was that fairy-tales and stories were born, the Master Sword said, windows onto the unseen. A drop of water for a thirsty heart.

Link, entranced, digested all this without comment. He hadn't mention this to any of his friends. Not even Zelda. How could he? They would think him mad.

"Hey!" a man snapped as he angrily shouldered past Link. "Quit standing there staring like a Gerudo-desert donkey and get outta the way. I'm a busy man, and I don't appreciate the impediment."

Link glanced at him as he side-stepped. "I meant no disrespect."

The man snorted as he moved off. "I bet you didn't."

Link let the encounter fall from his heart. Street vendors set up stall around him, polluting the air with the stench of hot, frying fat and toasted bread. Link continued to scan the palace. They'd certainly beefed up security since the last time he'd been here. He was sure they wouldn't fall for the 'trespassing in the gardens' trick he'd tried back then.

"You want to get in, bro?"

Link blinked, then turned at the sound of the voice. It was one of the spirits, green of heart and dark of dress. His eyes twinkled in merriment. Link's instinctive response would've been, 'You can see me?' and 'You know I can see you?' but instead he went for a simple, "Why...yes."

"Follow me, then, bro." He jerked his shimmering head in the general direction of the palace. "You'll walk straight past them guards and they won't even see you." He grinned. "Quite literally."

Link stared as, in his line of sight, glowing circles funnelled in on the spirit. Words flashed in green: _Pspecter [aka: Qarin, Ifrit]_. And another: _Trickster_. And finally: _Generally Harmless_.

Link spoke. "How?"

The spirit tapped the side of his nose. "Trade secret, bro."

"Why would you help us?"

"Us, is it?" Glee shone through his already incandescent features. "More than one, then? Fantastic. And as for why? Why not? It's fun."

"Fun?"

"Too right, bro. It's what I do. Things going inexplicably going wrong with your tech? That's me. Swore you put your stuff in _that _particular place and now it's gone? Me again. Thumps in the night? Bro, you should see the kids' faces. Hil-_ar-_ious." He grinned. "And my personal favourite: whispering all those little doubts into your fleshy ears. Losing confidence? Feeling undermined? Paranoid?" He spread out his ethereal arms. His dark cloak fluttered impossibly in the breeze. "Yours truly, bro."

"Hardly noble. This is all a jest to you?"

"Hey, you want to get in?" The spirit floated back, affront clear on his face. "I can help you. But you ain't judging me, bro. Like I said - it's just a spot of fun." He gave Link's shoulder a slight smack. "Here, watch this."

The spirit pointed and Link almost started in surprise. One of the palace guards was heading straight for him. Link tensed.

The spirit laid a cool hand on his arm. "Steady now, bro. I got this, yeah?" He chuckled. "I once peeked into this world that had some _wild _pictovids. I learnt a trick or two, let me tell you. Just watch."

"Hey, you! Scum!" the guard spat, his lips haloed with flecks of saliva. He shoved Link. "Identification!"

The spirit blew softly. A cloud of luminous green flew from his lips and enveloped the guard's head. The man's head snapped up, his eyes wide.

"You don't need to see his identification," the spirit said softly.

"I don't need to see his identification," the guard parroted in a flat, robotic voice.

"This isn't the scum you're looking for."

"This isn't the scum I'm looking for."

"Toodle-oo, now."

"Toodle-oo, now."

The guard turned on his heel and stomped off. Link blinked in surprise. He looked at the nameless spirit who now had a wide grin of satisfaction plastered on his shimmering face.

"Convinced, bro?"

Link frowned. "Scum?"

He felt the air behind him stir, disturbed by the motion of someone approaching. A soft touch rippled his sleeve. Link knew who it was instantly. His heart felt soothed.

"Link?" said Zelda. "Are you being okay...?"

He smiled without turning to her. "I am now." He cast the palace one last look. "I know how we're getting in. Let's go get the others."

...

"_The Gerudo Government are firmly denying -"_

_"Reports of Ganondorf Dragmire's death are beginning to filter -"_

_"Any attempt at comment from the Gerudo has been met with a stand-offish-"_

"It's Link," said Princess Midna. She stood gazing at the multiple pictovid screens in her Throne Room, hands clasped behind her back. The flash from the displays coated her eyes with an iridescent glow. "He's done it."

Chancellor Cole coughed softly. "We really should be cautious about this, Highness," he said, struggling to keep the doubt from ringing in his voice. "Our intel hasn't yet confirm-"

"I know," she replied curtly. "I just _know._" She took in a deep breath. "Is everything ready? The nuke? Project Ocarina?"

Cole bowed his head. "Everything is to your specifications."

"Good."

A soft cough fled from Cole's throat. "You are...ah...expecting him to come here?"

"Naturally."

A flicker of a doubting smile touched the corner of the chancellor's mouth. "Surely not, Your Highness. Since the last time he breached the palace, I took the liberty of posting only our _very_ best men -"

She cut him off again. "I know. It'll probably take him a good while to -"

The double doors to the chamber burst open. Midna spun neatly around. Link stood there, relaxed and casual, the Master Sword glowing green in his hand. His pirate friends - and Zelda, too - stood behind him. A quick glance over his shoulder showed Midna a line of broken and groaning bodies.

Midna let out a breath. "Nevermind, then."

Link began to march forward. Midna instantly unclipped a boxy device from her belt and snapped up her hand. "STOP!"

Boots squeaked as the intruders all held their ground. Link gazed at her. "There's no point in fighting, Your Highness," he said. "It is over now."

Princess Midna pursed her lips. "Not yet," she said, voice soft. Midna fixed her own eyes on Link. "Don't move a step further."

One of the pirates squinted. "What _is_ that?"

Midna didn't answer. "You know, you're right, Link. There is no point in fighting. I _had _intended to attack once you'd removed Dragmire from the picture, had even planned it out with Chancellor Cole here. But the more I thought of it, the more the doubts began to fester. My fate was sealed, wasn't it, Link?"

He cocked his head. "I know not what you mean."

A shadow of a smile touched her lips. "I think you do. My fate was sealed the moment I failed to finish you in this very room - and the moment you took the Master Sword itself." She glanced at the item in question. "I'm doomed to fail if I try, aren't I?"

Zelda spoke now, stepping out from behind Link. "That is being good to hear. That you are being able to accept things so easily. Please. You must be knowing now who I really am."

Midna's eyes fell upon the young woman she'd loathed, envied and feared for so long. "Now? I've known all along. You're _Princess _Zelda, the last remaining heir of the actual Hylian Royal Family."

Hope shone in the young woman's eyes. "Then you must be -"

"Don't talk. I'm doing the talking now." Midna raised the boxy device higher. Shafts of sunlight held her momentarily in a sparkling glow. A shadow from a passing cruiser fell across the room. "High above Castle City right this minute I've got a ship ready to drop a thermonuclear device at the touch of this button. You know what that is? A nuke?" He jerked her head at the chancellor. "Cole, feed the intel to their fairy."

Midna noticed in passing that they now had two. The one she was more familiar with floated ahead, her eyes aglow as Cole transferred the data over. Her jaws slackened, and she turned to Link with a sombre expression.

"It's like...a big bomb. With enough power to wipe out all life on Hyrule!"

Link didn't reply. His pirate friends shuffled awkwardly.

"Why would you be doing such a thing?" said Zelda. "Why?"

Crimson eyes narrowed. "I've worked too hard, little bumpkin, to have it all handed over to you. Either I undo everything I've achieved...or you do it for me."

Link frowned. "You speak in riddles, Princess. Explain."

Midna's cheek twitched. "My, who's grown bold now? Giving orders to your own mistress?"

"Zelda is the true heir of Hyrule," he replied. "You confirmed it for us yourself."

Darkness twisted her features. "That I did. She's of royal blood, like I said. Ancient Hylian royalty." She spat out each last word. Her eyes flicked to Link. "But for some reason _you_ have the Master Sword...?"

Link didn't bite. "What is it you want?"

"What's best for Hyrule!"

"Then hand over power to Zelda. Quickly and easily."

A gargled cry tore from Midna's throat. "Just like that? Hand it over? And she'll just pick it up and life will go on? No. _No. _I have a better idea. Cole - Project Ocarina."

Chancellor Cole nodded and trotted off to the side of the room. A moment later he'd returned, pushing a squeaking trolley into view. Upon it sat a window of shimmering blue, framed in varnished wood, and tall enough for a person to step through.

"It's simple," Princess Midna explained. "I'm no fool. I know the game is up. I'm not even going to fight. This is a time gate. A time _window_." Her upper lip trembled under the feverish tint to her eyes. "Specifically designed to be used by you, Link. Or anyone from your former squad. It'll allow you one round trip to any place and any time in history."

"That..." breathed a diminutive goggle-wearing pirate."That's incredible tech."

"Hush, Mako," said Link. He stared at Midna. "This is real?"

"It is."

"Not a trick? A last ditch sleight-of-hand?"

"Why would I lie?"

"What were we expected to do, then? My squadron and I?"

Midna shook her head with a cold smile. "It doesn't matter now. Oh, it so does not matter. What matters is this: You're going to back in time, Link. Yes, you are." She giggled. "_You_ are going to choose where and when. And you're going to _change _things."

Link blinked. "And then? Come back here?"

The princess responded with a short, sharp nod. "Whatever change you make in the past, due to our proximity to the window, we'll all remember both timelines when you return."

The goggle-clad pirate spoke again. "But...if things change that much, we won't even _be_ here to use the tech. In the new timeline, that is."

Midna shook her head. "The theory goes that the new timeline will alter just so and give all a pressing need to be here and now at this point to use the window in the first place."

She smiled at the frowns rippling around the assembled group. "Confusing, I know. Doesn't matter. What I want from you, Link, is to see what you're going to do. What you're going to change. What's _important_ to you. You see, you were wrong. I'm not a bad person. Not really. Here, I am, giving you a chance."

"These are games, Your Highness," Link said, his voice low and laced with steel. "I'm not too fond of games."

Midna took a short breath before she went on as though Link hadn't even spoken. "I'm guessing you'll go back and change all this with Zelda from ever happening. Yes? Go back and kill Dragmire? You have the sword now, and you clearly are the one to use it. You could get to him before he gets to _her._"

Link's ears had pricked up. All eyes turned to him.

"Or more," she continued. "Maybe you'll alter things so that I don't even come to power." Muscles in her face twitched as her lips trembled. "That's what I'm banking on, in fact. When you return, I don't even expect to be here. If I'm not - well, there you go, Hyrule is all yours.

"But if I am still here, then I promise you, I will drop the nuke. Either way - I cannot bear to see all my work undone by someone else entirely. So, either I never did it in the first place, or I'll wipe it all out here and now by my own hand."

The air prickled with anticipation. None of the intruders spoke. Link licked his lower lip as he thought.

Midna's whisper was seductive. "What's it to be, Link? All those years lost with Zelda- you could get them back now. Come on. Show your true colours."

Temptation harried Link like a blister to the heart. The scenarios were endless. The possibilities wet his tongue. Here was hope, garnished and presented to him on a plate. All his self-hatred, his years of lonely bitterness, the anguish that he'd kept so well-hidden - it could all be healed in one fell swoop. Zelda's time as the Aveil could be wiped out. Childish fantasies danced in his head: him and Zelda hand-in-hand, happy and laughing, living in a land free from war.

And Captain Tetra. Tetra would be alive and reunited with her sister.

He stepped toward the portal. All his pain and suffering could be ended in a single moment. As he faced the shimmering curtain of energy, he heard Zelda whisper behind him:

"Be content with what you are having, Link. We are being what we are because of our experiences. _You _are being who you are because of all that has happened to you."

He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Don't fret," he said softly. "I'm going to save us both."

The look she gave him held neither hope nor gratitude. "We are not needing it," she replied. "Be beautiful, Link."

Three words. Three words that pierced his resolve like a sword through tin. A stray memory presented itself to Link. A sudden decision clicked into place.

Link stepped through the portal.

...

Her hand fell to the swell of her stomach. It was instinct, a protective urge at the first sign of trouble. And judging by the commotion coming from outside, Laruto was certain there was a lot of trouble ahead. The sound of battle from over at Deep Cove had ceased a long while ago. It had to have been quite the conflict - the noise had even eclipsed the roar of the Zora Falls. Whoever was outside now clearly hadn't gotten the adrenaline out of their system.

And that made her feel very uneasy.

Laruto slid her feet into fur-coated shoes, then stepped through her swaying reed curtain into the sunlit air. Bells strung to the hollow wood chimed. She began to walk, her modest hut she shared with her husband behind her, the soothing sounds of the Falls ringing in her ears. She blinked through the moisture-clad air. There it was. A crowd. The other women of the village had begun to gather around a small group.

_Well, I say 'women,' but it's mostly just girls._

Everyone over the age of seventeen - both male and female - had been called to join the Alliance's battle against the Gerudo incursion at Deep Cove. Those remaining in the village were the elderly, the sick and those otherwise unable to contribute - like herself. Younger boys had been allowed to help out at the edge of the battlefield. Girls, though, had been told to stay behind. Laruto personally thought that was all _pish, _but the order had come from Prince Ralis himself, and Ralis did seem to be the old-fashioned type.

Laruto peered as she strode on.

Soldiers. Hyrulean Alliance. Laruto had been expecting them. Part of the clean-up op that always happened after a Gerudo incursion had been thwarted. There were three here - a tall Hylian, a Goron and a thug.

She didn't regret that last conclusion at all. Laruto was a quick judge of character. He was big, this thug, this _monster, _and he had a friend of hers - Lora; pretty, young and delicate - gripped in his grasp. The other two stood there, barely concealed disgust rippling on their faces.

Not that that made them step in and intervene.

Laruto stopped and judged the thug instantly. Intimidation was his game. It was clear from his build and posture - he'd clearly taken a lot of time and effort in both - and more from the intensity of his glare. Bulging were his eyes, the skin around them tight, the muscles in his face locked tight. It was the type of look designed to make another wilt at ten paces.

"How 'bout this one, then?" the thug barked. "Whole village is full of them. Ripe, they are." He held the struggling Lora by the wrist. Smacking his lips, he leaned in close. "C'mon. Just a little kiss." Lora swung her face away, appalled. "You'll _like _it."

The Goron glanced over at the tall Hylian. "Sir...?"

Disgust swamped the man's face. The commander, no doubt. "Leave it out, soldier."

A salacious grin spread over the thug's mouth. "I intend to."

"Enough!" The commander's eyes glittered. "Release her. That's an order."

The thug's face twisted in sour chagrin. "Fine." He shoved Lora to the ground. "But I'm not done yet..." He pulled something free, something that had been strapped to his back.

A plain grey canister. Laruto frowned. She squinted in the sunlight. Her skin prickled. She didn't like this at all.

The commander speared his man with a glare. "What are you doing...?"

"Ladies," the big thug swung around with a theatrical flourish. He tried to catch the glance of every girl standing before him. Their cowering reaction made him grin. "This here is an experimental _toxic_ weapon."

Laruto's throat tightened. A painful contraction squeezed her belly.

"We're the only squadron who has it, see," he went on. "And since you won't let me have a bit of fun - won't let me have my _reward _for saving your poxy fish-stinking village - how's about we have ourselves an experiment right here and now? Huh? Whaddya say, girls?"

Fear clutched Laruto's heart. She didn't exactly know what was in that canister, but she knew instinctively that she didn't want it open.

She began to stride forward once again. This man was _damaged _in some way and he was about to infect them all with the same poison. He'd already held up the canister, already had his fingers wrapped around its neck in anticipation. The other two didn't even attempt to stop him. Instead they were quickly pulling free plastic mouth-masks from their utility belts.

Their selfishness ignited rage in Laruto's heart. Still she stalked onward, picking up speed, her ears thumping with blood. Someone had to stop him. Someone -

A twig snapped. Laruto stopped. They all turned.

If Laruto had been expecting some sort of knight in shining armour then this newcomer certainly wasn't it. Thin and clad in black with a green coat, his was a casual gait, like he was just going for a stroll. He scratched an eyebrow.

The thug slowly lowered the canister. "Who's you?" He frowned, squinting. Sunlight pooled in the folds of his brow. "Do I know you?"

The commander stepped forward. "Identify yourself, civilian. Why weren't you out fighting with the others?"

The man said nothing, simply walked straight up to the thug. Laruto blinked, and instantly reassessed the newcomer. The casualness wasn't forced, but there was still something hard in the set of his spine, something coiled under the surface. She felt herself hold her breath in anticipation.

The big man, in comparison, simply reverted back to what he knew best - intimidation. He rippled his biceps and glared with unblinking intensity. Some of the girls even took a step back. Laruto almost rolled her eyes. Silly, flighty little things.

The fierce glower seemed to work. The newcomer stopped, looking at the thug with a rapidly blinking gaze. The thug glared some more. The other man rubbed an eye in apparent boredom.

_Just another day out in the sun._

Laruto couldn't help but laugh. That did it, though. That seemed to set the thug off. With a hate-filled glance in her direction, he gave the stranger a sharp shove.

Laruto could see the glee plainly written in the bigger man's face as he watched the newcomer stumble back, then topple over. Laruto gasped, her heart skipping. Whoever this stranger was, he'd only bought them a few minutes of extra time.

The thug snorted childishly.

His joy was short-lived.

The man rode the momentum into a roll and sprung straight back onto his feet. Shock widened Laruto's eyes. The air seemed pregnant with tight anticipation. A low snarl thrummed in the thug's throat. His team-mates already had hands resting on their respective swords. Humiliation and rage clearly clouding his mind, the thug sprang ahead as he tried to rush the stranger. Again he hit, barging with a shoulder, and again the man tumbled awkwardly.

Only this time he swept back onto his feet in an instant. He stepped in close to the thug. Punches followed - sharp, precise and determined. The soldier jolted at the first, sagged at the second, then finally slumped to the ground on the last. The canister rolled away from his open hand. All eyes suddenly turned to it. Time seemed to freeze.

Then they all pounced. Three pairs of hands touched the cylinder - and it spun away from their touch just as they did so. Laruto started. She had to hold herself back from diving in, too. Her hand had already moved unconsciously to her bump.

The three men reached the fallen canister again. This time it was the stranger who got there first. He kicked the object away, then rode the move, twisting on his heel, unsheathing his sword as he did so. Now he faced the two soldiers, weapon in hand. Energy throbbed.

The commander blinked, frowned. "Your sword...I can't..."

"You can't focus on it," the stranger replied in a surprisingly composed voice. "I wouldn't worry. You're not meant to remember it. Courtesy of my spirit friend. It appears I wasn't alone in my step back through the portal. Unseen beings have unrestricted access, too."

Laruto saw her own confusion mirrored on faces of the two soldiers. She blinked hers away. Maybe the stranger was mad...?

It was the commander who was the first to regain his composure. "The canister," he said, nodding in the fallen object's direction. "Give it to me."

"No."

A single word, firmly spoken, but Laruto read a lot behind it. Gone now was his relaxed demeanour. Anger drove the stranger's voice, but it was of a different type that she was used to. Not the hateful, malicious kind the men of the village occasionally succumbed to, the type that sought pleasure from the belittling and humiliation of others. This anger was tight, coiled. This anger was strength.

"Very well," the commander replied. With a swift nod to his companion, he unsheathed his weapon. Energy hummed. Flecks of water thrown from the Falls hissed against the blade. Birds croaked overhead. His squad-mate followed suit, then both leapt in quickly, the Goron aiming high as the commander went low.

The stranger ducked under the Goron's swiping cut, then himself sprung into a crouching lunge, the tails of his coat streaming out behind him, and skewed aside the commander's blade. The graceful ease of his movements coupled with the distant glaze to his eyes made Laruto think that the man didn't even see himself in his own actions.

_Like he's under the control of some other power. Or so he believes, at least. _

Was this insanity she was witnessing?

The ring of clashing metal mixed with the sizzle of discharged energy. A flicker of movement caught Laruto's eye. Her stomach clenched, another contraction washing painfully over it. It was the thug, crawling over unnoticed toward the fallen canister. This time she didn't even think - Laruto broke into a sprint, scooped up a damp rock, aimed, and threw.

It caught the big man a glancing blow on the side of his head. The skin there began to swell in a fast rising purple bump. He looked up, saw her, and snarled.

Laruto froze. He was already on his feet, the canister in hand, and bearing down on her fast. She shrank back, her hands protectively covering the swell of her unborn child. The thug twisted the canister's neck. It hissed. Fear locked Laruto's mind, made her stay rooted to the spot. A wisp of steam began to trail out from under the canister's lid. The thug's shadow fell upon the Zora. He was almost on top of her now, his eyes -

Rolled straight up as the point of an emerald-rimmed sword burst out of his chest. Laruto jumped, startled. With a two-handed tug the sword slid free and the thug slid to the ground, the canister rolling free once more. The stranger plunged his sword straight into it. A flash of green followed. His sword brightened. Whatever smoke had been released was being sucked straight into the blade.

When nothing but cold air remained, he pulled his sword free. A quiet satisfaction lay chiselled on his face. He turned to face the two soldiers. They were wounded, and breathing heavily.

"Take him and go," he said. "Never return."

The commander glared, cheek twitching, then gestured sharply with his hand. The Goron scooped up the fallen thug - Laruto couldn't quite tell if he was still alive - and the trio were soon gone.

The stranger turned. Hushed whispers rippled over the crowd. Laruto was surprised to find his eyes find hers. She stepped forward, feeling compelled to speak.

"Who are you?"

"No one," he replied. "You were very brave."

She let the compliment slide. "Tell me your name." Her head began to hurt. Already she found that his face was blurring, that she was beginning to forget the exact details of his features. "I need a name."

"Jace is a name," he replied, a smile in his voice. "A good name." He seemed to be glancing at her bump. "But not mine..."

And with that, he turned and left.

...

Timelines merged as Link stepped back through the portal. He remembered one lifetime where Laruto had recounted her bitter story in his chamber in Prince Ralis's palace, and then he remembered a fresher memory of being greeted by Laruto, Chief Advisor to the Prince, and being invited to spend a charming evening with her and her family - her husband and two children, the eldest of whom - named Jace - delighting them all with his childish antics.

The world refocused and Midna's Throne Room returned into view. The portal's light died behind him. The others were staring at him, befuddled, but none more so than Princess Midna herself.

"You..." snarled Midna. Her eyes blinked in rapid succession. "You changed nothing!"

Link's own eyes caught her finger hovering over the button. Tensed, he moved in toward her. "Put it down, Your Highness -"

"Aye," cried one of pirates as he slowly approached. His fingers waggled. "Just be letting it down. Gentle, like. And -"

"Please," said Zelda. "This is being enough!"

Princess Midna pressed the button.

"No!" cried Zelda.

Shock rooted Link to the spot. He heard someone gasp. Saria, maybe. Or one of the two fairies.

"Yes." Midna let her hand drop limply. "Yes." Misery seemed to flow over her face. "You lose." A rivulet of anger threaded into her voice. "You made me do this. I didn't want to. You _made _me." She paused to catch her breath. "Cole..?"

The chancellor seemed quite beside himself with glee. His lower lip quivered. "Yes. _Yes, _Mistress." Fingers danced on a keypad.

There was a hum as thick shields began to slide down over the windows. Shadows stretched across the floor as the light dimmed. "We're safe in here," said the princess, her voice hollow. She walked, feeling the combined glare Zelda and the pirates were giving her. "We'll be the only building standing. This was planned long ago, you see. Observe."

Images flickered to life on the inner plates of the shields, revealing to them a panorama of the entire city. A single dot fell from the sky.

"Why...?" croaked Zelda. "No..."

Tears pooled in Princess Midna's eyes. "Oh...oh my..."

A soundless flash followed. Then silence.

The air seemed to still in the entire room. The explosion followed, billowing out from the impact zone. It spread out like a fiery tidal wave, devouring all in its path. The people of Castle City - the very people that Midna had harboured such a fierce love for - turned in shock at its approach. They were caught, frozen in that eternal pose, and turned instantly to blackened ash. Buildings shattered. Trees withered. The cloud continued to spread, spilling out over the city's borders, spreading, spreading...

Midna's tears spilled over. "I...I never imagined...I didn't know..." The sky turned a burnt orange. The world ended before her very eyes. "Here is your kingdom, Princess Zelda." Her voice squeaked. "Rule over it well."

She turned to them now. Zelda was ashen-faced. The others seemed dazed in shock. She'd won. She'd _actually _won.

But at what price...?

The gravity of what she'd done weighed down Midna's shoulders. An unspeakable grief welled up in the deepest pit of her heart. "Raise the blast shields," she croaked.

Slowly the shields open, spilling sunlight onto her boots, then all the way up her back. Midna felt the warmth of her sun penetrate through her clothes. She knew she had to turn around and see, but suddenly found that she couldn't do it. Couldn't bring herself to simply look.

_My people._

Her eyes caught Cole's. He seemed strangely solemn. He gave her a nod. Midna nodded back.

Taking in a breath, she turned around. She held herself still, her breathing now controlled as the windows slowly opened to reveal -

The still-standing form of Castle City.

Untouched. Teeming with life.

Midna frowned. "What?"

She spun around - to be met by the floating form of Link's fairy.

"Hi," the little woman said with a smile. "I'm Navi the Fairy. You may have heard of me."

"What?"

"I had something in my head, you see. And it was only recently that I figured out what it was. Slow, I know. You see, a while ago, we had a little encounter with a little scamp called the Wind Fish. We killed it - or so we thought. All it _actually _did was download itself into my head. Sneaky."

Midna's chest was heaving. "What are you babbling about?"

"You know what a Wind Fish does?" Navi went on, unfazed. "It creates illusions. Different levels of illusions. Through me, it stocked our ship out with food. That illusion was so powerful that the crew actually felt full after they'd eaten it. _Sweet._

"There's another level of illusion, too, something a bit simpler, one that I've only just realised how to use - after all, it _is_ in _my _head now. So this other type of illusion, like I just said, is a lot simpler. Just an image, really. No form or substance behind it." Navi's eyes twinkled. "Kinda like the one _you've _just witnessed."

"What...?" Midna breathed. Her shoulders slumped. "_What?"_

The fairy grinned in smug serenity. "Oh yeah. Navi the Fairy: One. Princess Midna: Zero."

"But...the nuke..."

"I disabled it."

The words hadn't come from the fairy. Midna turned to the new voice. It was Chancellor Cole - except it wasn't; at least, not his usual, snivelling self. This Cole stood straight and proud.

"You...?"

"I've been in contact with the _Maximus _ever since they left Dragmire's corpse behind. I informed them of your plans. They, in turn, made their own. Not the only thing I passed on them, either. The Harkinian family files for one. Oh, and what I said about hiring our best men to guard the palace? I lied."

Disbelief made Midna shake her head. "But you...you were _desperate _for me to drop this bomb!"

A slight smile played on Cole's lips as he bowed his head. "I had to convince you I was on your side."

Midna felt her whole world torn out from under her. "Whose side _are _you on?"

"For generations - bar from a few regrettable blips - my family have faithfully served the Royal Family of Hyrule." He took his place beside Zelda. "The _real _Royal Family." Cole sighed in satisfaction. "And now, Your Highness, you've seen for yourself exactly what you are."

Princess Midna roared in rage. Her sword was already free from its scabbard - she swung at Navi who just deftly pirouetted out of the way. Her feverish eyes fell upon Zelda. She thrust her sword -

And found its path blocked by the humming green outline of the Master Sword.

"So be it," she spat, voice hoarse. Glancing up at Link, she said, "Let's see how good you really are, soldier."

The swords slid apart. Midna turned her attention fully onto Link. Her former soldier dropped into a fighting stance.

"No." It was Zelda. "No more fighting. No more killing."

Link flicked a glance over at her, brow furrowed, but said nothing. Instead, it was the young girl Saria who spoke. "You sure? You saw what she just did, right? She was just about to kill everyone and everything in the world! And not to mention all the other things she's done - like to us Sheikah."

The distraction was enough. Midna nimbly leapt forward, the point of her sword aimed straight for Link's heart. His eyes shifted - he saw the attack at the last moment and dropped into a crouch. Midna would've followed through - except the space he'd vacated was now filled by Zelda herself. Zelda with a fist cocked. Zelda with a blow to the chin that sent Midna down, her sword skittering away from her grasp.

Midna blinked and shook her head. As her vision refocused, she found herself staring up at a wincing Zelda who was busy nursing fingers now red and swollen.

"No more I said." The young girl's eyes were fixed on Princess Midna. "You are being right," she said softly. "I cannot be just taking over the throne. I will be needing help. The people will be needing to understand. They will be needing someone they trust to inform them."

Midna glared up at her, tight-jawed.

Zelda leaned closer. "You are wanting to do good for Hyrule? You are wanting to leave a legacy? Then help me. Together, side by side, we can be doing what is right."

Suspicion danced in Midna's eyes. "You would trust me? Why?"

"Oh, no. I am not trusting you." She leaned forward, wiped a still-drying tear from Midna's face. "But I think Link and his crew here will be keeping an eye on you. Isn't that being right?"

Link nodded. "What do you say, Senza?"

The grey-bearded pirate replied. "I'm all for it. We all are."

"So I'll be caged and watched like an animal," Midna spat. "No thanks."

"No," Zelda replied. "You will be being alive. And you will be having the chance to put things right. It will be...beautiful." She held out an outstretched palm. "Please."

Midna glared, her eyes snapping from Zelda to Link to the pirates then back to Zelda again. A muscle in her cheek twitched, the lines around her eyes tight. She hissed through clenched teeth.

Then slowly, gingerly, Princess Midna took Princess Zelda's hand.


	21. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_###_

_Recording..._

_This is your (former) Goron-Z Co. Fi-class fairy speaking. Designation: Navi. I'm the ship's pilot, engineer, **and** communications specialist. _

_Why, thank you. You should hold your applause, though. Your hands may begin to hurt._

_That, and the fact that I haven't really had that much to do recently. _

_I'm also the ship's eyes and ears. My job is to make a fresh report each and every day with the proviso to annotate it for a non-specialist audience. Exciting. _

_Today, I have with me as an able assistant the merchant fairy Honeysuckle Bluebell the Third._

_Yes, that **is** her real name._

_I **know**, right...?_

_**[** Stop that gak. I am **not **your 'assistant'.**]**_

_Yes, you are, sweetie. Now go and make me a cup of tea. There's a good lass. _

_So, tomorrow is the day of the great ceremony, the day where (former) Princess Midna hands over power to Princess Zelda Harkinian. I love a good party. Wonder what I'll wear. _

_**[**Not the little pink number. It makes your wings look fat.**]**_

_You got that tea yet? Come on, chop-chop._

_So. Ahem. Can you believe it's been one whole year since we brought Midna down in her own palace? Amazing. I would thank Link, Zelda, Gortram, Saria and the tech-pirate crew for all they did, but why bother, hey, since it was all down to me and my sweet Wind Fish powers._

_You know it._

_Honeysuckle says I'm far too vain, but I'm not catching the drift of her critique. After all, you can't spell 'vain' without the letters 'N', 'A','V' and 'I'. _

_**[**I'm still here. I just wanted you to know that.**]**_

_Two sugars, sweetie._

_So let's check in with (former) Mining Team Beta-Beta-Gamma and their extended crew..._

_###_

Clouds hazy with red-gold sunlight drifted over the Royal Dockyards of Castle City. The air was awash with the hum of idling engines, the rhythmic clank of metal being moulded under a hammer, and the buzz of scattered sparks. There was the occasional shout, too, bursting forth from dockers dressed smartly in eye-dazzling white. They themselves marched up and down the length of the dockyard, patrolling impeccably clean platforms. Untainted and fresh, there was a reason why the docks had the word 'royal' permanently stitched to them.

Not everyone got a chance to anchor their ship here. Incandescent sunlight flashed off of gold-gilded railings hemming in vessels that were only here by special permission. _The Righteous Maximus _had hers, and there she sat now, quietly reposed in her designated space.

Gulls flew overhead, their cries piercing the air. Upon the ship's deck a round wooden table had been set up, complete with chairs. The pirate crew of the _Maximus_ sat around it, each holding a hand of playing cards.

They all looked intense. Intensely bored, perhaps, but intense, nonetheless.

Senza had his booted feet propped up on the table as he lounged in his chair. Gonzo managed to look completely impassive in an entirely intense way. Nudge stared with furrowed brow at his cards. Zuko, for some reason, was using a telescope to look at his. Gortram belched. Niko scratched his head.

Only the Sheikah/android/young girl named Saria wasn't paying attention to her cards. Instead, she stared hard at Mako.

The pirate under scrutiny tried to avoid her glare. He was wilting already. Saria's eyes were as hard as the granite expression on her face. Her being so unusually silent didn't help, either.

Mako could take no more.

"_What?"_

"I don't trust you," she replied.

He started. "What? What have I done?"

She said nothing for a moment, just stared and sipped on a straw from a glass filled with bubbly, brown liquid. A Gerudo inquisitor had nothing on this girl.

Unnerved, the tech pirate pulled at his collar. "Well?"

"Those goggles," she explained, jabbing a finger his way. "Uh huh. Oh yeah. Don't try to hide it now."

"Seriously. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I bet you don't." Her voice had all the texture of frost. "You're using those goggles to find out what our cards are. Mmm-hmm, I'm right, aren't I? "

"No!" Mako flushed. "No way!"

Saria's eyes narrowed. Her drink fizzed.

Clearly, someone had to step in at this critical juncture. And it was Senza who took the heroic decision to take that weighty task upon himself.

"You know what I think, mateys?"

Gonzo glanced up. "What?"

The grey-bearded pirate scratched his tanned nose "I reckon we should just haul anchor and go searching for that Triforce thingy."

Saria rolled her eyes. "Not _this _again..."

Senza pretended he hadn't heard. "Perfect opportunity. Everyone seems to have forgotten about it."

Gortram snorted. "That's because it's buried under rock. Lots of rock. More rock than a Goron tea party. No way we'd get through to it."

"Tsk." The pirate's tanned face wrinkled in distaste. "Where's your sense of adventure, Gort? You haveta try, matey."

The Goron blew out an equally unimpressed breath through pursed lips. He shook his head.

"Besides," Senza went on, "Can't you just...like..._eat_ your way through? Isn't that what you Gorons do to rock?"

"I ain't that hungry," Gortram growled in response. "And, besides, what would you do with the infernal thing? Sell it to the highest bidder?"

Senza shrugged. "Yeah. Sure. Why not? Maybe the museum will want it. We'll throw _you_ in as a freebie, hey Gort?"

"How about I throw you into Fire Mountain to teach you some manners?" Gortram wagged a finger. "You need to be respecting your elders, lad."

"Well, I think it's a good idea," Senza mumbled in reply. "You think it's a good idea, Nudge?"

Nudge grunted.

"See?" said Senza. "Nudge thinks it's a great idea."

Gortram had more to say. "Well, I say my business idea is the best way forward."

Senza's eyes bulged above his tattered purple shirt. "You are joking, right?" he said. "You want tech-pirates like us to stand around all day in a Zora Bliss Beach hauling kids onto...what was it you called it again? The Tickety Booster...?"

"Rickety Coaster," Gortram replied, voice sour. "It'd keep us busy."

"It _is _a bit boring around here," Saria admitted. Fabric flapped from above as the breeze creased the ship's sails. "It's like we've been anchored here for, what, like a year?"

"It _has_ been a year," said Gonzo, gazing down at his cards. He reached past the red bandana stretched over his hair to have a little scratch behind his ear. "Cap's busy, that's all."

"Ha!" cried Senza, sending the table into a shudder as he banged his boots down upon it. "Well, lookit you. Defending the Cap."

Gonzo growled. "Someone has to, yeah?"

"Oh, come on, guys," said Mako. "It's not been that bad. Remember when we had to dive the ship straight into the Onyx Sea of the Zora just to get back that Despair Pearl from the Living Shadows?"

"Yeah," Gonzo nodded. "At Prince Ralis's request. Got ourselves a nice little earner out of it, didn't we, yeah? And remember when the city's tech all shut down cuz of that what-sit -"

"Trojan Worm," Saria added softly.

"Yeah, that's it. A sentient techno-virus that _actually _took the physical shape of a worm. Wild, yeah?"

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

The noise was coming from Niko. All eyes turned his way. He flushed at the sudden attention. Fiddling with his belt, he pulled free the offending item and flipped it open.

"A clam com?" Senza said with a grin. "What are you, twelve?"

"Uh," said Niko. "Yes, actually." He placed the com to his ear. "Uh huh. Yeah. Uh _huh._" A slow smile spread over his lips. He snapped the com shut and grinned at the others.

Saria tucked a stray lock of her emerald hair behind one ear. "Well?"

"Yes," said Zuko, his dark-rimmed eyes showing a spark of interest. "Iz who?"

Niko grinned some more.

Gonzo eyed the youngster with suspicion. "Spit it out, yeah?"

"The Cap!" Niko replied. "It's the Cap. Said it's time to get ready, man. Uh, _men._" Saria glowered at him. "Ummm..."

Senza flicked his cards into the air. They fluttered down in a whispery drizzle. "_Finally!"_

Mako sniffed. "Meh. I would've won, anyway. I had three pairs. The only person who came _close _tothat was Saria, and she only had two."

Saria sighed. "Yeah," the young girl replied, nodding as she laid her cards flat on the table. "You're right about - hey!" She spat fizzy brown liquid from her mouth in shock. "How did you know that?!"

Mako's eyes sprung open. "Uhhh..."

"You _were _spying on us! You were! I was right!"

Mako froze for a heartbeat, then bolted from his chair. Saria growled as she leapt over the table. "Come here, you! I'll stuff those goggles right up your -"

Laughter born from the camaraderie of friendship followed the chase.

...

"I hear congratulations are in order."

Despite all her attempts at keeping a regal bearing, Princess Zelda felt the flush of warmth in her cheeks and allowed herself a smile. The long white skirt of her voluminous dress fluttered in the warm breeze. She stood on a wide balcony high up on the Emerald Palace, Prince Ralis's disembodied head floating before her framed in a sky bruised purplish-red from the setting sun.

Zelda bowed her head. "I am thanking you."

The Zora smiled. "You kept those nuptials secret, didn't you? My, my. Cole spilled the beans, in case you're wondering. Good thing, too, I say. Keeping it so secret. At least you weren't too exhausted when night fell, hmm?"

Despite herself, Zelda blushed furiously. "There will be a public announcement," she replied after quickly clearing her throat. "In good time. Tomorrow is being more important." She paused as another gust of wind picked at her lilac top. A sprinkle of lights flickered to life in the distance - the city soldiering on in the fast-diminishing daylight. "Of course, when we _do _announce it, I hope you will be attending our celebration?"

"I wouldn't miss it, Your Highness."

His laugh was genuine. Of all the new friends and allies she'd had to make in the past year, she counted Prince Ralis amongst one of her favourites.

Ralis's liquid-black eyes twinkled. "A suggestion. Perhaps you would care to take advantage of, ah, the Zora skill of hospitality and have the party here in the Domain?"

Zelda winced inwardly. The prince had been asking her for months to visit. Despite her newfound fondness of him, she'd just never found the time. "I will be considering it. Let me be asking Link."

"Of course, of course."

He watched her for a moment more in the silence that followed. His face flickered, and it had nothing to do with the strength of their pictovid connection. Genuine grief seemed to line the smooth, grey skin of the prince.

"Prince Ralis...?"

"Oh, nothing, Highness. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. It's just that...it still astonishes me how alike the two of you look."

Sorrow twisted Zelda's heart. "I was never knowing my sister."

Ralis smiled. "Then that's another reason for you to visit. I'll tell you all about her."

Zelda cocked an eyebrow. She still hadn't quite established what exactly the relationship had been between Tetra and the Zora prince. The mystery intrigued her. "I will be looking forward to it."

Ralis changed tack. "And how is Midna? How is she taking it all?"

"Better than I was expecting. She has been very helpful. Been very enthusiastic. She has prepared the people well for the changeover. I am thinking there will be place for her in the new order."

"Well," Ralis replied, a little uncertainty flecking his voice. "I'm sure you know best. Peace, Princess Zelda. It is time for me to attend to less pleasant matters."

Zelda smiled. "Link and I are eager to be meeting you again tomorrow."

"Likewise. Ralis out."

The Zora prince's image vanished. Princess Zelda took in a deep lungful of the twilight city air. Then, with eyes closed, she held out her arms and allowed herself to fall backward. Her heart protested, beating rapidly. She ignored it, let herself instead feel the rush of air rippling through her golden hair.

He caught her. She knew he would. Zelda felt Link's lips brush against her forehead. She smiled.

Opening her eyes, she gazed up. Link, in turn, smiled down at her. "One more day," he said. "One more day, then you officially take the crown."

Zelda groaned. "Do not be reminding me. I am having so much to do, even after I am taking over. The Gorons - ugh! They are being very stubborn. They are still not being fully committed to the Alliance. Not _now, _anyway. I am almost pulling out all of my hair working on it."

"Oh, I hope not," he replied softly. "I'm fond of your hair."

She allowed Link to gently bring her back to her feet. She looked at him with a piercing gaze. "You are having the Master Sword, Link. You should rule."

He shook his head. "We have discussed this. You're the princess. You've been prepared for this moment all your life."

"I am not wanting it."

"That makes you the best qualified." A smile ghosted over his lips. "Or so I've been told."

There was something else, she realised quickly. Something she wasn't telling him. Her eye twitched. It was so obvious. "You are going to be leaving, aren't you?"

He looked momentarily abashed, like he'd been caught red-handed in the middle of a crime. "Only for a short while."

"I see."

"And not just yet."

"Then...?"

"Soon. After tomorrow, maybe."

Her sparkling blue eyes thinned to slits. "I am thinking you have been planning this behind my back for a long while."

"How could you even consider such a thing?"

"Very easily."

He laughed. "Alright, you win. I'll be taking the crew with me; they're getting restless. And the _Maximus, _too."

Zelda snorted. "That's good. For a moment I had been thinking you would be walking." She blinked. "What _is_ your intention? With the ship, I am meaning."

"The usual." Link ran a hand through his hair. "Naturally."

"Piracy?" she said, amusement tinkling in her voice. "I am not sure I can be allowing that."

"Exploring," he replied with another smile.

Zelda felt her own heart thud in her chest. Their banter was familiar, comfortable and good-natured, fitting like a well-worn glove, but now she felts its effects begin to fade. Cold reality faced her.

_Do not be going,_ she wanted to say. _Do not be leaving me again. _Instead, she said, "Is this being about the...incident?"

Link winced. "Yes."

Zelda nodded thoughtfully. A few months back, in a brief battle with a few Gerudo survivors who hadn't got the message that the war was over, the Master Sword had temporally depowered, leaving Link to fight his own desperate way out. It had demoralised him.

When she'd asked him what he'd been thinking at the time, Link had eventually admitted that the veils dropping from his heart had made him feel - for a brief moment - somehow better than everyone else.

He hadn't entertained that thought since.

Zelda turned, then leaned her back into Link's chest. His arms locked around her waist. She sighed for a moment, contented, listening to the beat of his heart.

"I am having a theory," she said.

"Oh?"

"You went back in time. You were telling me you were changing something in a Zora woman's life. Something important."

"Yes."

"You could have been going back to kill Ganondorf. So that the war would never have happened."

"I know." He let out a meaningful breath. "But you implied that I shouldn't. Though I do sometimes wonder..."

Zelda let the breeze play with the strands of her hair. "Do you think you would have been succeeding if you had tried...?

She sensed him blink in confusion. "You don't think so? Why?"

"You would have been killing him...just to be saving you and me, yes?"

Darkness had almost set in now. Energy driven lamps buzzed to life on the balcony. Ship navigation lights bled into the stars above. Link spoke again. "Yes."

"Then I do not think the Master Sword would have been allowing you to pierce the Gerudo's armour. I am thinking it only did so in our timeline because it was finding you worthy. If you'd gone back in time having such selfish thoughts, I am thinking the Sword would not have worked." She swallowed, then added, "The same thing, I am certain, is what happened with your...incident."

Link lapsed into silence then. Zelda let it linger, watching the ships putter by overhead. An old tugboat with an old, clearly decrepit engine chugged nearby in a cloud of greasy, black smoke. Not too close, of course. The palace's defence grid would've sparked into life otherwise.

Still the silence stretched. Zelda knew that Link was thinking over her words. She also knew that he wouldn't be entirely convinced.

She spoke again. "Where will you be...exploring?"

"Oh," said Link, a wry smile in his voice. "I have some friends who know some...ah..._unseen _places."

Zelda licked her lips in thought, but decided against questioning him. Whatever power the Master Sword was under, it had used the weapon to show Link things that she guessed were probably beyond her imagination.

Instead Zelda savoured the warmth of their closeness. "Will you be coming back to me after you have had your wondrous adventures?"

"I always do."

"Be saying it."

"I'll come back for you, Zelda." The gravitas in his voice deepened. "I promise."

Zelda smiled. "I love you."

She felt him nuzzle her neck. "And I, you."

Another patch of silence followed. They didn't need to say anything just then. Zelda's swam on tides of contented serenity that tugged at her heart and hoped, _hoped _that this night wouldn't mark the last time either of them experienced it. There was so much ahead for the both of them, so much that would demand their time...

She heard a soft cough from somewhere far behind. Chancellor Cole, no doubt, come to drag her away for yet another rehearsal of tomorrow's ceremony. Regret nudged her heart.

"Link," she purred softly.

"Yes?"

"Do you think we are being safe now?" Her voice was hushed. "Is Hyrule safe?"

He took a few moments to respond. "I feel safe right now," he said. Link tightened his grip around her waist. "Don't you?"

Zelda smiled again. She placed her hand over his and squeezed as she looked out over a city now blanketed in a diamond canopy of lights. "Yes," she breathed. "Yes, I do."

...

The warehouse sat derelict in a near-abandoned district of Castle City. The buildings here were dark, the windows cracked and caked with grime. Abandoned ships, broken and stripped to the wood, lay strewn across the streets. If you were lucky you might spot a huddled shape sat hunched over the embers of a fire housed in a rusted canister.

There were no lights on in the warehouse. If you looked closely enough, though, and you peered past the torn wires scattered over the dust-covered floor, you might be able to spot a neon glow seeping out from deep within one of the inner chambers.

A man sat in a chair that squeaked with his every movement. The black leather coating had split in many places and the foam within now bulged outward. He sat with steepled fingers in front of a bank of pictovid screens, each one displaying an entirely different image.

It had taken him months to get to this point. Months of tireless tracking, tech-hacking and, of course, months of spilling blood. And now it was here, in his grasp: the codes to the Eye in the Sky. Every inch of Hyrule was his to observe - provided, of course, he had enough pictovid screens to go around.

"I don't," he said out loud to no one in particular. His voice was raspy, like he hadn't had to use it in a long time.

"I haven't," he said, then chuckled.

He tapped some keys on a pad before him. One of the pictovids zoomed in, the image of Link and Zelda now filling the entirety of the screen. He knew who Zelda was now, naturally. _Everyone _in Hyrule did. So happy they were to get the true heir of the Royal Family to finally return...

"_Do you think we are being safe now?"_ the Zelda on the screen said. "_Is Hyrule safe?"_

The man's mouth split into a leering grin. "No, no, oh dear no," he giggled. "Safe? Not yet, my pretty. Not while there is breath still in these gallant lungs of mine, no. You can have your tech and your mystical sword, for I have something better. Something _old_er."

The man stood, swaying slightly on his feet. He glanced again at the screen. "Look at you both. So happy. So _smug _in your happiness. For how long, I wonder...? Well, this I promise: With the _magic _I now possess, I will sow the seeds for a cataclysm that will bring about the end of the world as you know it."

Despite the apparent lack of any wind, his hair and clothes still managed to billow outward. "Yes." He raised his palm. A carved, curved shape sat there. Dark holes pocked its glowing surface.

An ocarina. It was an ocarina. "Yes, I will. So. Swears. _Ghirahim_."

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**A/N: ** This one was a lot of fun to write. I think the change of setting helped - I felt like doing something different rather than write medieval fantasy over and over. I got to shine the spotlight on some of the more minor characters of the franchise (and you don't get any more minor than Gortram), albeit in an AU way, and I got the chance to - hopefully - change people's perceptions on a little fairy named Navi ;).

Thank you for your reviews (especially you regular reviewers!). As ever, they are very much appreciated. I hope you all enjoyed this one.

Thank you all,

Split


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